Shattered Reality
by YamiPaladinofChaos
Summary: On Hiatus. Under Revision as A Hearbeat Away, A Universe Apart. Harry and Ginny's adventures (as well as misadventures) as they chase Voldemort across different worlds.
1. The Journey Begins

Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter, or any game, book, or anime you may see here. No profit is being made from this.

Summary- Lord Voldemort has found a spell that will transport him to other realms. Seizing upon a chance to escape the emerging power of the Boy-Who-Lived and discover new ways to power, he jumps through the portal. However, to his dismay, Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley have followed him. (Inspired by Kingdom Hearts, expect many crossovers.) H/G

AN: This just suddenly came to me as I looked through the details of Kingdom Hearts 2. I thought about doing it as a Kingdom Hearts fic, but I wanted to put it in a different fandom and be a little more creative, so I chose Harry Potter. If any of you want to contribute a universe for Harry and Ginny to travel in, put it in your reviews. This will NOT be a super-power Harry fic (at least not yet). I hope to find a way to make Harry powerful, but not all-powerful. So here goes my hopefully original fic.

Chapter 1- The Journey Begins

            It was a bright and sunny day in Little Whinging. The kind of day that makes you want to whistle, to laugh and play like the children, to be with your friends and family and just enjoy the beautiful day. That's the last thing that Harry Potter wanted to on this beautiful day.

            Harry Potter sat in the smallest bedroom in Number 4, Privet Drive, laying in his bed, brooding and grieving. The reason for Harry's exceptionally bad and gloomy mood was the death of his godfather less than two weeks ago. Sirius Black, the innocent convict of Azkaban, had been killed rescuing Harry from the Department of Mysteries by his cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange. Harry had gone there thinking Sirius had been captured, and was intent on rescuing him, even if it meant facing the Dark Lord Voldemort.

            Thinking about Voldemort only led to the prophecy, which deemed Harry had no choice but to kill or be killed by Voldemort. No middle ground. No negotiations, no protests. Just death.

            For the first week of his 'exile' to the Dursleys, he grieved non-stop for Sirius. Then he remembered the Prophecy, and brooded on it as well as grieved for Sirius. Luckily for Harry, the Dursleys were keen on avoiding him and treating him with what bordered on a forced respect of him, thanks to his allies in the Order. It brought memories of the Department of Mysteries back.

            He thought about his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. They always stood by him, no matter what. How brave they were, coming along with him even though it may have meant facing down Lord Voldemort himself. He thought about Neville Longbottom, the once timid boy who fought the longest and hardest by his side. He cursed himself for ever laughing about Neville, or thinking it absurd a few days ago that Neville could have been in his shoes. Neville was a powerful and determined wizard, and could have easily taken on the role. He thought about Luna 'Loony' Lovegood, and how the normally dreamy and detached girl fought at his side, helping him stand against Voldemort's followers, the Death Eaters. And he thought about little Ginny Weasley, who was not so little or shy anymore. He had been a fool to underestimate her, and a prat for ever forgetting her horrifying experience with Tom Riddle, now Lord Voldemort's diary. He recalled Christmas, when she reminded him of it, how her eyes flashed with anger. She was quite pretty when she did that. __

_            Pretty? Whoa there Potter. Ron would kill you for thinking that way about her. _Harry thought.

            _But didn't he looked at you when he said choose someone better?_ A voice inside of him answered. _And besides, give Ron some credit man. You're his best friend. _

_            Yeah, but she's his little sister. _Harry shot back. _Besides, Prophecy, remember? I doubt anyone wants to love a murderer._

The last thought backed him up. _Love? Come of it Potter. Anyway, she's over you. Which is good, because you can't really get close to anyone, not without Voldemort going after them._

Trying to push thoughts of Ginny Weasley aside, he came up to thoughts about Lord Voldemort. He had to beat him. He had to. If not for everyone who was counting on him, then for his parents, and for Sirius. He wanted to make sure that Voldemort paid for his crimes, and he was the one to do it.

            _Why didn't I see that it had to be me? All the effort he put into killing me, how it seemed like instinct for me to fight Voldemort…_

            Harry sat up from his bed, his heart a little lighter and his grief just a tiny bit less. He began writing a letter to Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna, and Ginny, thanking them for their help and encouraging their responses. After a moment of thinking, he decided to contact Remus Lupin as well. Being the last true Marauder, he was probably hurting as much as Harry.  He also wrote a letter to Professor Dumbledore. He felt guilty about trashing his office, and wanted to talk about it, and how to help him defeat Voldemort, in person.

             He wrote Ron's letter first.

            _Ron,_

_            How's it going mate? I'm sorry for being so distant lately, I'm only just starting to deal with Snuffle's death. I really hope I can come to the Burrow soon. Even thought the Dursleys are bordering on, dare I say, respectful, they're no way in hell they could ever compete with your family._

_            I wanted to thank you for your help back in the Department of Mysteries, and for all the times you've stuck by me. You could have quit at any time, and you still can mate. I won't hold that against you. Anyway, thanks. That's what I really wanted to say. _

_            Speaking of which, there's a letter for Ginny. Yes Ron, Ginny. She's not a little girl anymore, and she did help us out back in the Department of Mysteries, so I wanted to thank her._

_            Well, write back soon mate, because I am bored out of my mind._

_            Harry_

Smiling, he went over to Hermione's letter.

            _Dear Hermione,_

_            Hey Mione. I wanted to start this letter off by vowing to do something I should do more often. Listen to you. You were right about me, my love of playing the hero got you all hurt and Snuffles killed. But I know that if I start wallowing in grief, you'll tell me to stop. I've begun dealing with it, by the way, because I have things to do, and Snuffles would not want me grieving._

_            I wanted to know if you had any books about Defense Against the Dark Arts or advanced magic that could be useful in the D.A. Yes, I wanted to read them, so if you have any (which I know you do), can I please borrow them?_

_            No, I haven't finished my essays yet, and no, I haven't gotten my O.W.L's yet. But I don't need Trewalney to tell me what you got. Let me guess. All Perfect O's!_

_            I wanted to thank you for all that you did for me at the Department of Mysteries, and all our previous adventures. I don't think I ever thanked you for that, and I regret it. Thank you. _

_            Anyways, write back soon! The Dursley's may be a little better, but I'm bored out of my mind!_

_            With Love,_

_            Harry._

He smiled, knowing Hermione would send him half a library if she could. He began writing his letter to Neville. It would be difficult to write to him and Luna, because he had less in common and knew less about them than Ron, Hermione, or even Ginny.

            _Dear Neville,_

_            Hey Neville, how's it going? I know I haven't written to you before, but I wanted to thank you for what you did for me at the Department of Mysteries. You had nothing at risk, yet you came with me, and most importantly of all, you were the one who fought by my side the longest._

_            I hope your grandma isn't upset with you because your father's wand was broken. If she is, tell her it's my fault, and that I sincerely apologize. _

_            If you want, you can write back, because I have nothing better to do, and letters are probably the only thing that get me through the summer._

_            Sincerely,_

_            Harry Potter._

Harry looked over the letter, satisfied with how it worked. He didn't know much about Neville, he was ashamed to admit, because he didn't pay attention. A mistake. He smiled at the three unexpected allies and friends he had received when he took them to the Department of Mysteries. _Why is it I always make friends while in_ _a life or death situation_. _First Hermione, now Luna, Neville, and Ginny. _

            _Although you had a life or death situation involving Ginny before, Potter. _The annoying little voice was back.

            _Yeah, well…_Harry didn't really pay much attention to Ginny either. But Luna, Neville, and especially Ginny had proven their worth to him, and showed that although they were heavily underestimated, they were extremely powerful, to be able to contend with Death Eaters.

            _Dear Luna,_

_            How are you Luna? Are you still looking for Crumple-Horned Snorkacks? I hope you find some! _

_            I wrote this letter to thank you for your efforts in the Department of Mysteries, even though you didn't have to be there, you agreed to come. I hope you were not to injured back there. You fought well, and saved Ginny from a Death Eater. _

_            Once again, thank you for your help, and if you would like, you can write back. I'm stuck here with nothing to do._

_            Sincerely,_

_            Harry Potter._

A little short, but polite and thankful. _Now on to Ginny's letter_, Harry thought tiredly. Writing letters was tough, and he still had two more to go.

            _Dear Ginny,_

_            First of all, Ron. Stop reading this, or trying to read it. Leave Ginny alone._

_            Secondly, how are you? I know I've never written to you before, but I wanted to thank you for your efforts in the Department of Mysteries, and all the times during the year you made me feel better, and brought me out of my moodiness._

_            So how is everyone? Is your mum mad at Fred and George for leaving school early? _

_            Speaking of the terrible twosome, have they mentioned how they're doing? I'm speaking from a purely spectator position, with no reason at all why I would want to know._

_            Well, if you like, you could write back. I'm always here, and have nothing better to do than read letters._

_            With Love,_

_            Harry _

The love part of it just casually came out, and Harry hastily added a with. Why in the hell did he write love? He wasn't as close as he was with Hermione, and writing that could cause some problems, especially with six redheaded brothers. He didn't really want to send her any mixed messages, or encourage her. Not when Voldemort was on the loose.

            _Wait. So if Voldemort wasn't out there, and if there was no prophecy-_ The annoying voice began, but Harry quickly amended it.

            _Nothing. Sod off already._

He quickly shoved aside the voice inside again, and grabbed another parchment to write to Professor Lupin. He hadn't ever written to him before, and his Order messages were sent normally to Mad-Eye Moody, Tonks, or Mr. Weasley.

            _Dear Professor Lupin,_

_            First of all, I'm fine. Dursleys still treating me with what I wouldn't call respect, but a sort of fear-respect. I think out of all of you, Moody and Tonks scared them the most. Either Tonk's um… colorful hairstyle or Moody's battle worn figure would raise a lot of eyebrows and questions around here._

_            Secondly, and most importantly. I'm dealing with Snuffles being gone. I wrote to you, specifically, because I wanted to know how you are doing. I lost Snuffles, and he was the closest thing I ever had to a brother/father figure, but I still have my best friends, I suppose. I've been kind of distant lately. But all the Marauders are gone now, except you. Wormtail is traitor, so he's lost all rights as a Marauder. _

_            If you like, you can write back. I'm stuck inside a tiny room with nothing but old books and unusable magical objects._

_            Sincerely,_

_            Harry._

Finally, the last letter. However, writing to Dumbledore seemed so difficult now, bringing back the pain that was just now starting to heal.

            _Dear Professor Dumbledore,_

_            I am sorry that our last meeting was disagreeable. I would like to apologize._

_            The topic of our meeting, however, I would like to discuss in person, please. I need to start working towards that topic._

_            Sincerely,_

_            Harry._

It was short and cryptic, but Harry was sure Dumbledore would not only understand, but would respond.

            Harry turned to his snowy white owl, Hedwig. She was nibbling on the remains of a mouse she had brought back last night. "Here you go girl. Go to Professor Dumbledore first, then Remus, then Neville, then Luna, then Hermione, then the Burrow. Sorry for the long trip girl." Harry added, at the bewildered look on his owl's face. "Hurry back." He whispered. Hedwig nipped his ear affectionately, took a long drink of water, then took flight.

* * *

            Harry lay in bed, trying to clear his mind, as Snape told him. His scar hurt far less nowadays, and he thought he was finally getting the hang of Occulemency. _Bit late though, Potter. _A nasty little voice that sounded more and more like Draco Malfoy, Harry's rival at school's voice. Harry felt guilty at those words, but tried to ignore the stinging pain coming from his eyes.

            _Great. Now not only do I share minds with Voldemort, but I have an inner voice that sounds like Malfoy. It's a wonder between them and the Dursleys, I'm not crazy._

Harry turned over, and lay quietly, trying to sleep. After a few more minutes, he fell into a restless, uneasy sleep that he had more and more as the years went on.

            Suddenly, Harry jerked violently up, and his scar burned like never before. Voldemort was happy. Immensely happy. Harry gritted his teeth, trying desperately not to scream and cry out, and managed small, painful groans of agony, as he collapsed on the floor, his scar bleeding badly.

Eventually, the pain subsided, and Harry was finally able to think straight. This could not have just been mere Death Eaters escaping Azkaban. Something huge had happened. Like the kind of happy Harry expect he would be if: a) Harry died, b) Dumbledore died, c) his dreams of immortality were realized, d) a massive part of the Order had been wiped out, e) someone from the Order was captured. Harry feverently hoped that it was none of them, since every single one of them involved Harry's chances of killing Voldemort reducing by huge numbers. _The first one was probably about to die, though_, Harry thought with a start. He grabbed his wand and peeked out the window cautiously. Nothing.

            If it was b), then Harry was screwed. No one could teach him as much as Dumbledore, not to mention the huge morale blow it would have dealt to the wizarding world.

            Number three was probably worse than anything else. Harry could go down with a fight, and Dumbledore could weaken Voldemort at the least. Number three would completely and utterly destroy Harry, unless Harry could kill an Immortal.

            Number four was, a dark part of Harry admitted, the best of the four. Losing large parts of the Order would hinder the war effort, but wouldn't destroy their chances. It was cold-blooded thinking, and the Slytherin part of him was the culprit.

            Number five was bad. The captured person could potentially give away everything. The Order members, their plans, Grimmauld Place, and Privet Drive. That would be a crippling blow for the war effort .

            Suddenly, Harry realized the amount of pain he was in, and collapsed onto the bed, exhausted. Moments after his head hit the pillow, he was off into another restless sleep.

* * *

Harry woke to the familiar yelling of Aunt Petunia. Oddly, the normalcy of it comforted him. He was really, really screwed up.

            He trudged downstairs, and plopped himself between Uncle Vernon and Dudley. It was his customary seat, and the worst one of them all. The smell was unbearable some days, even if the Dursleys tended to ignore him which made things easier.

            Harry chewed on his toast quickly, trying to get upstairs and find a way to contact the Order, when a flame erupted in the kitchen.

            Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley back away immediately, looking with a mixture of anger and fear of Harry, who they always blamed for everything.

            Harry looked at the flame, trying to remember where he had seen it before, when Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, materialized out of it. "Fawkes!" Harry cried jovially. The phoenix trilled its phoenix song, bringing some measure of peace to Harry's troubled heart. He loved Fawkes' ability to do that for him.

            "What the bloody hell is that!" Uncle Vernon cried fearfully.

            "This, is a phoenix. To be precise, Professor Dumbledore's pet phoenix." Harry said, looking pointedly at them.

            Dudley and Uncle Vernon looked both surprised and angry, but Aunt Petunia's reaction was strange to him. She paled, and edged even more away from Fawkes.

            "Get it out of my kitchen!" Uncle Vernon blustered, his face turning purple.

            "Can't do that, Uncle Vernon. Professor Dumbledore has a message for me, and he's the head of the Order. You know, those people who met you at the train station?" Harry said, barely able to keep a straight face.

            The reaction was instantaneous. Uncle Vernon paled, and muttered a few curses under his breath, before saying, "Very well boy. Take that-that- bird upstairs to your room!"

            Harry smiled, and took Fawkes up to his, as he stroked Fawkes' neck lightly. Fawkes trilled happily in response. When they entered the room, Fawkes presented Harry with the note attached to his leg.

            "Thanks Fawkes." Harry smiled.

            He opened the note half-eager for news, half-deathly afraid of news.

            _Dear Harry,_

_            It's quite alright. You're behavior that night was better than I had expected. I'm glad we can get over that disagreement._

_            As for the topic of our meeting, I'd like to discuss it in person, and begin preparing you for it immediately. Your babysitter will invite you over in a half-hour. _

_            Sincerely,_

_            Professor Dumbledore._

No mention of deaths or anything. Harry let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. The note seemed freshly written, meaning nothing had happened yet to the Order. But what was Voldemort so happy about? Was Dumbledore to tell him this later?

* * *

            Harry walked towards Mrs. Figg's house, thousands of questions popping out of his mind like popcorn on the fire. What happened? Why was Voldemort so happy? Were the Weasleys and Hermione safe?

            Harry knew Voldemort hadn't tried anything yet. His Death Eater forces had been cut almost in half by the fiasco at the Department of Mysteries, and his plans had been set back immensely. He had to be cautious, now that the Ministry and the Order were onto him.

            He walked to the door, and raised his hand to knock when the door swung open to reveal a smiling Mrs. Figg. "Hello Harry, lovely to see you. Albus is in the living room."

            She ushered Harry into the living room, although Harry could easily have found the way there himself, considering she had been his babysitter for most of his childhood. And there, sitting in the living room, bright blue robes and all, was Albus Dumbledore.

            "Hello Harry." Dumbledore said quietly, motioning for him to sit down.

            "Hello sir." Harry said politely, moving to his seat calmly, but he was bursting with questions.

            "I'll go get the tea." Mrs. Figg said cheerfully.

            "Thank you, Arabella. Would you like some, Harry?" Dumbledore looked at him, studying him over his spectacles with his bright blue eyes.

            "Sure, tea's fine Mrs. Figg." Harry said, giving her a smile. It wasn't a real smile, but it was a start, Dumbledore noted.

            "So Harry, I imagine you have questions. I will answer them truthfully now, as I said when we last spoke." Harry turned slightly pink at the comment, and immediately threw out his first, and most pressing question.

            "Is everyone okay?" Harry asked hurriedly.

            "Of course Harry, the Weasleys and Miss Granger are perfectly safe." Dumbledore said calmly.

            "But what about the Order?" Harry said worriedly, "Are they safe?"

            "Of course Harry." Dumbledore replied, and Harry slumped slightly, a give away about the pressure he had been feeling. "Why are you so worried?"

            "Last night sir, my scar" Harry began, and Dumbledore's attention sharpened, "it burned like never before. He was happy sir. Happier than he's ever been. He's got something, or done something, sir."

            "This is troubling news." Dumbledore said, his blue eyes no longer twinkling.

            "Sir, I need you to help me. If he's happy, it can't be good for us. I need to learn how to beat him. I need to learn how to fight like you did back at the Department of Mysteries." Harry said pleadingly.

            "That is why I came here today Harry, to begin your training and tutelage under me." Dumbledore said, the twinkle back in full force.

            "Wait, how will I train in magic? What about the Restriction of Underage Magic!" Harry protested.

            "Well Harry, in light of your, _precarious_, situation, you and your friends have been granted a waver by the Ministry, as long as you keep it away from muggles. They would have only let it slide for dangerous situations, but I insisted you had to be trained by me." Dumbledore said smiling.

            "So what will I be learning?" Harry asked eagerly.

            Dumbledore resisted the urge to chuckle at his pupil's eagerness to learn. "Charms, Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, yes Harry, I will teach you Potions," Dumbledore added at the look on Harry's face "Ancient Runes, Arithmacy, Appartition, and Wandless Magic."

            "Wandless Magic? Do you mean Accidental Magic?" Harry asked, bewildered.

            "No Harry, I do not. I believe you have the ability to do Wandless Magic, and I'll tell you why in a short while. Tell me Harry, after you learned you were a wizard, have you ever done anything without a wand?" Dumbledore asked.

            Harry thought for a while, and remembered that out of instinct, he used a Lumos spell wandlessly, and had not been charged for it either. "I used Lumos last year sir, when I was looking for my wand."

            "Excellent Harry. You do have the capacity to do things wandlessly. It is far more difficult however, than wand magic, because you draw the power and shape it from yourself, without a focus point, which is the wand."

            Harry looked at him for a moment, trying to comprehend the magnitude of things he would be learning from Professor Dumbledore. But one more thing still bugged him. "Why Ancient Runes and Arithmacy, sir? I don't take those classes."

            "These two classes I believe would be most beneficial for you to learn, in order for you to gain more of an edge against Voldemort. He will not know you know of these subjects, and will underestimate you."

            "And I take it the same goes for Appartation?" Harry inquired, catching on.

            Dumbledore's eyes twinkled merrily, pleased his pupil had become so mature. "Indeed Harry. We wouldn't want to risk you getting trapped somewhere."

            " No indeed." Harry mumbled, remembering the Triwizard tournament. Had it not been for a portkey, Harry would have been trapped with over a score of Death Eaters and Voldemort himself. Harry looked up, only one more question remaining. "Would this continue at Hogwarts?"

            "Yes Harry, it shall. However, I must ask you that this remain a secret." Dumbledore said gravely. 

            "I understand sir. We can't allow Voldemort to know, can we?" Harry said quietly.

" No indeed, Harry. Also, you will continue Occulemency under me."

            Harry grinned. It was much better than Occulemency with Snape, although Snape would probably be better to toughen him up. "Sir, maybe after we're done, we can ask Snape to try to break my Occulemency shields."

            "Why Harry?" Dumbledore questioned, truly mystified by his pupil's desire to spend time around a teacher who outright hated him, so much so that he forgot to correct Harry.

            "Because Snape will probably attack my mind like Voldemort will, and I need to know I can stand against that as well, sir."

            Dumbledore smiled at his pupil's wisdom. "Very well Harry. When you have completed your training, Professor Snape will perform Legilimency on you, to test your aptitude.

            "Now then, Harry. I have a little present for you." Dumbledore reached for a long package Harry hadn't seen when he came in, and handed it to him. "Open it." He said gently.

            Harry opened it, and it took him a few moments to register the fact that he was holding a sword. And not just any sword. The sword of Godric Gryffindor, which he used to save Ginny Weasley and kill the basilisk.

            "But… why?" Harry asked, unable to form a full sentence.

            Dumbledore chuckled for a moment. "Harry, let me tell you something. Godric Gryffindor, unlike Salazar Slytherin, had no heirs to continue his line, because the one love of his life, Rowena Ravenclaw, was unable to bear children. He was unwilling to force himself on another woman when he was unwilling to make love to anyone but Rowena." Dumbledore smiled as he said the last part, noting the healthy blush Harry was getting from the topic.

            "But," Dumbledore continued, "Godric knew that Slytherin's heirs would terrorize the world, and he wanted someone to protect it. A Gryffindor." Harry looked up, struggling to comprehend what Dumbledore was saying. "He swore a magical, binding wizards oath that a true Gryffindor would be his heir in a time of need, and stand against the Heir of Slytherin. And the Heir of Gryffindor would be known by the sword of Gryffindor coming to his aid."

            Harry looked at Dumbledore, trying to deal with the fact that he was Gryffindor's magical heir. "So, because of the Prophecy" Harry began.

            "Not just this Prophecy, Harry. Rowena Ravenclaw had a small amount of the Inner Eye, and was shown a vision of Slytherin's heir. She was the one who helped convince Gryffindor to pass the heir of Gryffindor his power and sword."

            "Wait a minute." Harry interjected. "I'm as powerful as a founder of Hogwarts?"

            "Just as Lord Voldemort is as powerful as Salazar Slytherin." Dumbledore affirmed. "I hope this isn't too overwhelming."

            "No, it's not sir. It's fine. But, I don't really know how to use a sword-" Harry admitted ashamedly.

            "That is no problem Harry. I will bring an instructor from the Order to teach you sword fighting, in addition to helping you in your other magical training with me. In fact, I'll bring your instructor in right now." Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling even brighter than before. "I believe you know Remus Lupin?"

            Remus walked in, smiling at Harry's shocked expression. "You-you're my-" Harry sputtered.

            "Yes Harry, I am your sword fighting instructor. Your father and Sirius insisted on learning about it the summer before sixth year, and we trained secretly." Remus looked at Harry, gauging his reaction to mentioning Sirius. He was hurting, but he vowed to help Harry in anyway he could.

            "I'm fine Remus." Harry said sincerely. "So, I'm to be learning Occulemency and magic under you, and sword fighting under Professor Lupin?"

            "Harry, I'm not your professor anymore." Remus said, exasperated.

            "Au contraire, Professor Lupin. You are teaching me something now, aren't you?" Harry said, his eyes twinkling like the Headmaster's eyes.

            "He has a point, Remus. Yes Harry, you will begin studying for your inevitable confrontation with Voldemort." Harry looked at Remus, trying to gauge his reaction to the statement. "I have shared part of the Prophecy with the Order, Harry. They believe you will fight Voldemort, and that is why we protect you." Dumbledore said carefully.

            "Okay sir. So, when do we begin?"

            "Tomorrow, Harry. You look tired. Rest tonight, and we will return tomorrow to begin your training."

* * *

            For the next two days, Harry began his grueling training with Remus and Dumbledore. _They were slavedrivers!_, Harry thought as he lay on his bed, thoroughly exhausted by the long day of training. He knew Remus was a good teacher, but as a sword master, he was downright brutal! And Dumbledore, he shuddered to think about _him_ teaching Transfiguration. He was a bloody slavedriver! He had had a conversation about Transfiguration with Dumbledore yesterday.

--Flashback--

            "Professor Dumbledore sir. I had a question." Harry said as he and Dumbledore shared their afternoon tea. It had become a relaxing time to talk things over. They were not the two wizards who bore the weight of the world in that hour, nor Headmaster and pupil, but relaxed friends.

            "Harry, please. During summer, call me Albus." Dumbledore insisted gently. Harry smiled as he went pink. He would _never_ get used to calling him that.

            "Right. Albus, why did you use Transfiguration against Voldemort? Was it because it was your specialty?" Harry asked, curious.

            "Indeed Harry. I was always most adept at Charms and Transfiguration. Play to your strengths Harry, not to your opponents." Dumbledore said in a casual, yet lecturing tone.

            "But my strength is flying sir, and I don't think it will work against Voldemort." Harry said dubiously.

            "Harry, you must be joking!" Dumbledore said jovially. "I have talked with Griselda Marchebanks a few times, and, although I shouldn't tell you this, you have the highest Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. in Hogwarts history!"

            Harry's eyes widened. "Wow…" Harry muttered, "I know I did good, but that good?"

            "Yes Harry. You got full marks on both exams, and extra on the practical, for what I believe was, and I quote, 'the best bloody Patronus I've ever seen!'"

            Harry went scarlet at the compliment. "It wasn't that impressive." He muttered.

            "Nonsense Harry. You are exceptionally powerful to summon a Patronus as a third year." Dumbledore chided. "So, as I said earlier. Use your strengths in Defense Against the Dark arts, as well as your _other _talents, to defeat Voldemort."

--End Flashback--

            Dumbledore was a miracle worker in Transfiguration as he had shown Harry. He made McGonogall look like an amateur! He was also a master at Charms. Harry was learning more in the past two days than he had in weeks at Hogwarts. Dumbledore instructed him on everything from DADA to Potions. Harry felt confident he could have made N.E.W.T. Potions if Snape hadn't instructed him all these years, and secretly hoped Dumbledore would use this private tutoring to get him into N.E.W.T. level Potions. Ancient Runes was interesting, Harry wished he had taken it earlier. Arithmacy, the art of magical numbers, was a way to construct spells, something Harry decided was very good for him to learn. The two new subjects came to him somewhat easier than any other course, except Defense Against the Dark Arts.

            His wandless training was slow going, Harry had only just mastered Lumos, and was struggling to master Summoning and Banishing charms.

            His Occulemency was going much better, now that he didn't have the sneering face of Snape to face. Dumbledore said in a few days they might even start of Legilimency!

            Harry suspected his _other_ talents Dumbledore mentioned were his exceptional sword skills, wandless magic, and a few skills he hadn't learned yet.

            A sudden tapping noise at his window brought Harry out of his reverie. Hedwig was back! Harry leapt out of bed excitedly, his exhaustion fading with eagerness to hear from his friends. He tore open the first one, from Ron.

            _Harry,_

_            How are the muggles? They treating you alright?_

_            It's alright Harry, you were upset about Snuffles. _

_            The Cannons are definitely going to win this year Harry! I can see it in my Inner Eye… _

_            Everything's quiet here at the Burrow. I never though I'd say this, but I miss the twins. They kept mum distracted, at least.  Mum keeps trying to get Dumbledore to get you over here, but he's never around!_

Harry laughed. He knew exactly where Dumbledore was, but he couldn't tell anyone.

            _Well, let's hope Dumbledore changes his mind about you staying with those muggles. I mean, how can they possibly protect you!_

            What's up with you writing to Ginny, Harry? And ha ha, very funny about the first part.

****

****_Ron_

Harry smiled. It was just the sort if letter he expected from Ron, casual, and normal. Exactly what he craved. Normalcy. Too bad that being Harry Potter guaranteed none of that. His next letter was from Ginny. He ignored the flip-flops from his stomach, claiming them as leftovers from Remus' cooking.

            _Dear Harry,_

_            I was surprised to hear from you, but grateful that you consider me a friend. I wanted you to know that we all miss Snuffles. I talked to him a lot over the summer, seeing as how we were always the odd ones out. He said I reminded him of your mum!_

_            I'm fine Harry. Madam Pomfrey works wonders in healing, as you should know. And there's no need to thank me for any of that, I just wanted to help. But if you start being moody again mister, I'll put you back in your place! Why do you think my brothers are all afraid of me!_

_            Speaking of my brothers, Ron was reading the letter, but stopped when you told him to, apparently. As for the twins, they're doing great. Why do you want to know Harry? And don't tell me your just curious, Mr. Potter!_

_            With Love,_

_            Ginny._

            Harry grinned. It was better than Ron's, who still treated him like glass, and was just as fun to read. He smiled. He would enjoy having Ginny Weasley as a friend.

            _But is that all you want?_

            Harry threw his arms out in exasperation, oblivious to the fact that it made him look unstable. This voice would not shut up! He pulled out another letter, from Hermione.

            _Dear Harry,_

_            It's alright Harry. I shouldn't have been so direct, and put it in simpler terms. I'm glad to know one of our rare fights taught you something. _

_            As for listening to me more often, I'm glad you came to your senses! Now do your homework and prepare for your N.E.W.T's!_

_            How are the Dursleys treating you Harry? Are they any better than they were last summer? Did they take the Order's warning seriously?_

_            All Perfect O's? I hope so! How do you think you did? I think I may have only gotten an Exceeds Expectations on my Ancient Runes O.W.L. because I mixed up a few runes. How do you think you did? _

_            Are you going to continue to D.A. this year, Harry? It seems like a good idea, and I would never have passed my DADA O.W.L. without your help!_

_            With Love,_

_            Hermione_

Harry snorted as he read the last part. Hermione would have passes if she missed two years of D.A.D.A., without his help. But the D.A. seemed like a good idea. He loved it, and had lived for those meetings. He supposed that teaching would be like that. _Obviously Snape does not live for his classes, or he could be a little more cheerful._

            Harry looked at the last two letters, from Neville and Luna. A sudden wave of exhaustion crept over him, and he decided to read them the next morning. He smiled though, as he went to bed, secure in the knowledge he had friends.

* * *

            Two weeks later, Harry was a changed man. His training with Remus had begun to turn his body into a well-toned athletic body, similar to that of those Olympic Athletes Harry had seen on the telly once. He had learned a lot from Dumbledore, from fundamental truths about Potion making to how to build a spell in Arithmacy. Harry was growing stronger, and he was sure that Voldemort would feel it soon.

            He looked over at Hedwig's empty cage, missing his friend. He grinned at the thought of his correspondence with Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Luna, and Neville. They had become a tight-knit group, forged in fire and battle. Ron and Neville seemed to bring normalcy to Harry's chaotic life, Hermione mothered him in her letters, Luna's correspondence was humorous to Harry, because it was as random and strange as Luna herself, and Ginny's letters brought him the most joy, somehow combining elements of every letter into one, unique Ginny letter.

            His latest correspondence from Ginny related tales of Ron and Hermione's being too thickheaded to get together. Harry feverently hoped they got together during sixth year, due to the bet he had placed on them. Fred and George had said seventh year, while most of Gryffindor had already lost, underestimating just how thick the two of them could be. There were so few people in the running, with the best bets on Fred and George's bet. But Harry just had a sneaking suspicion that he was correct.

            Harry thoughts brought him back to his mail, and he wondered when Hedwig would return. It was not like her to miss his birthday, as she was always there for it, bringing him presents along with other owls.

            A sudden knock on his bedroom door brought Harry back to reality. The Dursleys never knocked. Harry withdrew his wand, and moved to the door quietly. He swung the door opened and was about to curse whatever was out there when he was met with the twinkling eyes of his Headmaster. "My first year, what did you tell me when I asked you what you saw in the Mirror of Erised." Harry said quickly, not letting his wand down in case it was a Death Eater.

            "I told you I saw myself holding a pair of socks, Harry." Dumbledore said smiling.

            "Oops! Sorry sir!" Harry said quickly, embarrassed that he had almost cursed Albus Dumbledore.

            "Quite alright Harry, At least you're being more cautious. Moody will be pleased." Dumbledore said.

            "Why are you here si-Albus?" Harry amended, still not used to calling Dumbledore that, "Is something wrong? Is everyone alright?

            "Everyone is fine, Harry. I'm just here to collect you, so we can go to the Burrow."

            Harry was confused. "What? The Burrow? No one said anything to me about going there." Harry said cautiously.

            "I'm afraid the Weasleys insisted it be a pleasant surprise." Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling. When Harry was finished gathering his things, he presented Harry with an old sock.

            Harry felt the familiar tug of a Portkey behind his navel, as he was whisked away from Number 4 Privet Drive.

* * *

            When Harry's feet hit the ground, he quickly lost his balance, teetering for a moment, then he hit the ground, hard. As he struggled up, a blur tackled him. "Harry!" Hermione cried. "How are you? Were the Dursleys treating you okay? Have you finished your schoolwork?"

            "Mione, let him breathe!" Ron called out.

            "Oh, sorry!" Hermione said, letting Harry go. Harry took in deep breaths, coughing slightly.

            "Good to see you too Mione. You're getting stronger." Harry commented, leaving a faint blush on Hermione's cheek.

            "Harry!" Ron cried, clapping him on the back. "Good to see you mate!"

            "Good to see you too Ron." Harry said. A sudden voice however, brought his attention away from his two best friends.

            "Hello Harry." Ginny said quietly.

            Harry resisted the urge to gasp at the sight of her. She was beautiful, her hair shining in the midday sun, her big brown eyes searching his soul, it seemed. "Hi Ginny." Harry said cheerfully, shaking himself from his thoughts.

            Hermione, however, noticed how Harry stared at her, fighting the urge to smile. _Finally_.

            "Comeon mate, let's go inside." Ron said cheerfully, oblivious to the exchange between his little sister and his best friend.

            Harry walked inside, and it was pitch black, which immediately put Harry on guard, and was about to warn the others when the lights flickered on. "SURPRISE!!!"

          Harry was floored. The Weasleys had given him a surprise party. Harry looked around at the gathering. The Weasleys, minus Percy, Remus, Neville, Luna, Tonks, Moody, other members of the Order, some faces he couldn't see, and- _Dumbledore_!

            "Wow! Thanks everyone!" Harry choked out, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to erupt. In all his life, this was the kindest gesture anyone had ever shown him.

            "Aw come on now Harry. Don't go crying on us!" Ron said, and clapped him on the back.

            "Sorry," Harry said, then added "It's just that no one has ever done anything like this for me." Harry added the last part quietly, and luckily for the Dursleys, the comment was not heard by the majority of the people, and he quickly greeted everyone. He smiled. This was going to be the best birthday he ever had!

* * *

          Harry felt exhausted, and all he had done was greet the guests! There were so many! Even Professor McGonogall was here, greeting him! Harry was touched. They worked so hard to give him all this.

            A sudden call from Mrs. Weasley brought Harry back to his senses. "Cake!" She called out, ushering Harry into the living room, where a gigantic birthday cake stood.

            Harry smiled, a true smile, a smile that was so rare on him now, which warmed everyone's hearts. "Blow out the candles already Harry, so we can eat!" Ron called out. Hermione smacked him over the head a moment later.

            Harry looked at all these people who came today to celebrate him, to give this wonderful gift to him. "Thank you." Harry said quietly, but everyone caught it. "This was the first birthday party I ever had." He smiled, but now no one was smiling. McGonogall's mouth went thinner than he'd ever seen, Remus suddenly looked a lot more fierce than before, Mrs. Weasley was doing her tiger impression again, Moody looked, well, like himself, and Dumbledore looked grave.

            "Sorry." Harry said, apologizing for ruining the mood.

            "Nonsense Harry." Mrs. Weasley said, but under her breath she was muttering something about "Cursed muggles".

            Harry looked at the candles, and everyone called out, "Make a wish!"

            Harry closed his eyes. _I wish that everyone could make it through this war okay. _He blew the candles out with one breath, and a thundering applause was heard.

* * *

            Harry sat outside the Burrow, basking in the feelings of contentment and joy in the afterglow of the party. The guests had long since gone home, and Harry had never felt better in his life. It was as if for one night, his troubles had been taken away.

            "Harry?" A voice called out.

            Harry whipped around quickly, his wand out and ready for any trouble. It was Ginny.

            "Jeez Gin, don't scare me like that!" Harry scolded.

            "Sorry Harry. I just wanted to see if you were alright." Ginny said, blushing slightly at his use of her nickname.

            "I'm fine Ginny." Harry said sincerely. "This had been the best day ever."

            "I'm glad you feel that way. We were all worried about you, after…" Ginny trailed off, uncertain about how he felt about this topic.

            "It's alright Ginny. I'm fine. Really." Harry said forcefully. "It hurts, but I'm getting better. And today really has been the best birthday, the best day I've ever had."

Of course, if he knew what was about to go down that night, he would have hit himself for jinxing it. 

            Harry and Ginny sat there for a while, talking about Quidditch, school, O.W.L's, anything. Harry found it so easy to talk to Ginny, and she looked so pretty in the moonlight-

            _Stop. Right there._

            Suddenly they both stopped talking, and just looked at each other. They both drowned in each other's eyes, neither one of them quite sure what was about to happen as they felt themselves pulling closer to each other.

            _He's going to kiss me! _Ginny thought excitedly.

            Suddenly, Harry jerked back, screaming in pain and clutching his scar, which had turned a bright red. "Harry!" She screamed. "Are you alright!"

             "Voldemort-have to-warn-get-Dumbledore!" Harry gasped as he collapsed, his chest heaving in pain.

* * *

            Harry found the next few moments in a blur as people rushed to him, asking him how he was. The only sure thing he knew was there was someone holding him tightly. A girl. A girl who smelled like apple blossoms.

            "Wha…" Harry asked groggily, still not fully aware of his surroundings. Suddenly, someone presented him with a beaker of liquid. Harry looked at it skeptically, or as much as he could with his mind still numbed with pain.

            "Drink Harry. It'll clear your mind." Mrs. Weasley said.

            Harry obediently drank the beaker, feeling the bitter potion slide down his throat, he almost retched, but managed to hold it in. After a few moments, his vision cleared with his mind. "Thanks." Harry said gratefully.

            "I don't need your thanks Potter." Snape replied.

            Harry goggled at him. Snape had given him the potion! What were people thinking! He probably wanted to poison him! He looked ready to throw up till another hand steadied him. The one who smelled like apple blossoms. "Harry, it's fine. The potion was just some Head-Clearing and Pain Relieving Potion." Ginny said.

            Harry smiled at her, and whispered, "Thanks Gin."

            "Mister Potter, you're awake!" Dumbledore cried jovially, walking into the kitchen.

            "Yes si-Albus." Harry said, correcting himself at the last moment. Many of them looked fascinated and horrified that Harry would call Dumbledore that.

            "Albus, the-" Harry began, before Snape groaned in agony, clutching his arm. "It's begun." Harry whispered, turning pale. "Go Professor. Go to him now." Harry urged.

            Dumbledore nodded at Snape, who disapparated immediately to meet with Voldemort. "He's got something sir. Something powerful. A ritual. It's going to help him do something. Escape, I think." Harry said, still confused. "He's in the woods. Near Riddle Manor. I recognize it from the short time I stayed." Harry said bitterly.

            "I see. Molly, Arthur, contact the other Order members. We must stop this." Dumbledore said, and he turned to leave.

            "Wait sir!" Harry cried, grabbing his arm. "Please. Let me come along." Harry said pleadingly.

            "Absolutely not!" McGonogall cried, but Dumbledore silenced her with a look.

            "Harry…" Dumbledore said helplessly, obviously torn between trying to protect Harry and letting him make his own decisions.

          "I'm going to be there sir." Harry said forcefully. "It's whether you come with me, or I go alone."

            McGonogall looked like she desperately wanted to object, but Dumbledore sighed wearily. "Very well Harry."

            "If Harry's going, so are we!" Ron cried, and Neville, Luna, Hermione, and Ginny nodded furiously.

            "No!" Harry, Mrs. Weasley, and McGonogall cried in unison.

            "Absolutely not! Why-" Mrs. Weasley began, but Ginny cut her off, seeing as how Ron had become to cower beneath his mother.

           "Mum! We fought by Harry's side once! We'll do it again! We'll follow him no matter what!" Ginny said forcefully, and the others nodded.

            Harry looked at her helplessly, knowing there was nothing he could do to change her mind. "Very well. Be careful." Dumbledore said. "You will take orders from an adult, however, and not expose yourselves. You do not have the level of training Harry has."

          "Training?" Hermione asked Harry, who simply said nothing.

            Harry looked at them, a group he had led into battle once. Could he, in good conscience, do it again? Suddenly, a screech was heard and Hedwig flew onto his shoulder, nipping his ear and clutching his shoulder tightly, reassuring him. He smiled at her, then turned to the others.

           "Let's go then." Harry said quietly. "It's already begun."

* * *

            Harry felt the tug of the portkey take him to the coordinates he had specified and Snape verified. How Snape got a message off was beyond Harry's knowledge. He looked around. The full Order, minus Snape, was assembled, as well as the five members of the D.A., Ron, Hermione, Luna, Neville, and Ginny. He was hesitant to bring them, but they would not be dissuaded. Hedwig still hadn't let go of his shoulder when he was portkeyed. "Shoo girl. I can't bring you here. You have to be quiet." Harry whispered.

            Hedwig nodded, and took off into the sky, towards Voldemort though. "Your owl is very loyal to you Harry." Dumbledore stated. "Like a phoenix. She will serve you well."

            Harry nodded at Dumbledore, not fully understanding his statement at the moment.

            "Let's move." Dumbledore said as he turned towards the others, his voice oozing authority. The Order moved quickly, breaking ranks in order to cover more ground and not be caught all at once. The adults stayed with the five other students though, while Dumbledore himself ran alongside Harry.

            Finally, they caught sight of a clearing that glowed with power and anyone half-blind in the magical Sight could feel the raw power in the place. Dumbledore called the Order to them, and they prepared to attack.

            Harry ran into the clearing, breathing quickly, scanning frantically. Voldemort could not be allowed to escape. The damage he could do would only be stopped when Harry defeat him. He didn't know if he was ready, but he would try.

            Suddenly he saw where Voldemort stood, over a pedestal, chanting in an unknown language, along with most of the Death Eaters. A small number stood, guarding the area. Harry saw that Snape was among them.

            Quietly, he withdrew his wand and pointed it at Voldemort. "Pons Conor." He whispered, and the bright flash of light that accompanied the Exploding Spell went with a BANG.

            It struck a shield, which was invisible till Harry struck it. The flash of silver immediately alerted every Death Eater that they were under attack. "Stay you fools! Continue the ritual!" Voldemort screeched to the panicking Death Eaters within the shield, while motioning the Death Eaters outside to sweep the area.

            Harry made a dash from cover after Dumbledore gave a nod to him, as the Order loosed their barrage onto the Death Eaters and the shield. Snape had dived away, obviously getting some kind of signal from Dumbledore to avoid the area. Harry fired all kinds of spells at the shield, desperate to bring it down and face Voldemort.

            The shield stayed strong, and desperation flooded Harry. He would not allow Tom to escape! With renewed vigor, he loosed another Exploding Spell.

            This time, the shield shuddered under the impact, flickered, and went dead. The Death Eaters outside the shield were all but incapacitated, and now the Order was loosing their barrage onto the Death Eaters within it.

            However, as the multitude of spells neared the Death Eaters, and wave of magical power stopped the spells cold, emanating from a growing power on top of the dais, inside of Voldemort. Suddenly Harry was aware of the powerbolts firing from the Voldemort's body, taking the life forces out of the Death Eaters it struck, fueling him, transforming him.

            Harry ran the rest of the way, and used magic to enhance his movements as he propelled himself onto the dais. However, Voldemort had his back to him, and spread his arms wide. To Harry's horror, a black portal began tearing itself from the air.

            Voldemort turned and sneered at Harry as he stood in front of the pitch-black portal. "You're too late, Potter!" Voldemort crowed, "The portal is open. Au revoir!"  With that last one-liner, Lord Voldemort, Heir of Slytherin, leapt headfirst into the portal.

            Harry looked around, noting the desperation and fear that had taken the Order members over. "I'm sorry." Harry whispered, but it was caught by everyone around him. But only one person and an animal had figured out what was about to happen, besides Harry.

            "NO HARRY!" Ginny cried, dashing up the dais, clearly understanding the situation.

            Harry gave her a sorrowful smile, but his eyes pleaded with her to stay, as he prepared dive into the portal. As he dove, a screech was heard, and Hedwig swooped down, flying through the portal with Harry. The portal began closing.

 However, Ginny made one last dive as all of Harry and Hedwig passed through, and squeezed into it, just as the portal closed.

AN: I can't believe how long this thing is! I just decided that it would be better if I stuck the preparation chapter as one whole thing, before moving into the first new universe. I hope my other chapters are as long and fulfilling as this one was for me! Thanks for reading and please review!


	2. Brave New World

Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter, or any game, book, or anime you may see here. No profit is being made from this.

Thanks to veronik, lmill123, Sasinak, Lady of Masbolle, evon2evon, AvengingKitty, Bloodless Ace, Aishwarya, Imperial Lion and Phoenix, poppincorn, Harry/Ginnyfan4ever, warp17, Adrilliehs, moonfyre, A-Brighter-Universe, isabel, possom2009, gallandro-83, silver fairy dust, Alan Quicksilver, fanfanatic66, and Taren-ca for reviewing!

Q&A

Poppincorn- Really? Well, I figure J.K's going to use wandless magic in the future, and I'd like Harry to have a that power just in case.

Adrilliehs- This is going to be a Crossover fic. It's much more fun to use existing characters. I know that muscles take longer now. But at the time of it's writing, I was quite unaware, seeing as how I have no experience with this sort of thing. Thanks for pointing that out, but he's not like an Olympic athlete yet, just that there's some noticeable change.

Alan Quicksilver- The multiverse is definitely an influence here, and in a later chapter I may even have the Magic universe come alive! I play lots of decks but one of my favorites is a revival deck with a twist and my favorite expansion is probably Darksteel.

Taren-ca- Sound's interesting, except for one thing. I don't know what the wheel of time is. Perhaps you could give me a website with facts about it in another review. As for your above curiosities, well, that's a secret.

AN: Well now we see what world Harry and Ginny ended up on first! All I can say is, _SIT_ down and watch! (For those who know this one, it's a dead giveaway) Plenty of H/G moments and action! Just the way I like it!

Chapter 2 Brave New World

Harry felt strange. Stranger than any other point in his life, even the hectic night he had learned he was a wizard, or the night he ran away from the Dursleys third year.

He felt agony, like the Cruciatus curse, burning into his very soul.

He felt the lonely nothingness of this plane, almost bringing him to tears.

He felt the unbridled fury of this place, a maelstrom of pure energy.

Suddenly, Harry felt a presence. Not Voldemort's dark, malevolent evil, but a fiery aura of light and a more primal and simple aura, but no less fiery aura.

Through the void, he spotted something chillingly familiar. The flaming red hair of a Weasley, and the specific slender figure of the youngest Weasley. "GINNY!" Harry cried, hoping she'd heard him.

She turned, her brown eyes wide in fear. "Harry!" Ginny cried, reaching for his hand.

He caught her smaller, smooth hand in his larger, Quidditch calloused hand, ignoring the electricity of the touch. But just as Harry opened his mouth to question her, the maelstrom drove the air from his lungs. He grabbed her tight, trying to hold onto her.

Harry looked around, and suddenly felt two talons on him. His head whipped around to see Hedwig's golden eyes staring at him. He was amazed that these two would throw themselves to the void for him.

Suddenly, the storm picked up intensely, and Ginny slipped from Harry's grasp. Hedwig's talons gripped even tighter on his back, causing a few cuts. He cried frantically, trying to reach Ginny as the void seemed to close. The last thing Harry Potter saw as he fell through the void was Ginny's frightened face falling through the void.

The next few moments were a blur to Harry, culminating in a view of the brown earth from about five feet before being thrown into it. The only thing that saved Harry from a more severe concussion was his Quidditch reflex kicking in and managing to shield his head and shift his body moments before impact.

* * *

Harry Potter awoke groggily, having been knocked unconscious by the act of flying into the ground. "My bloody head…" Harry muttered, holding his head.

A hard nip on his ear brought him to full reality. "Hedwig?" Harry asked curiously.

Hedwig hooted in relief that Harry was awake, and gave what Harry supposed was a nod.

Harry staggered up, brushing his robes off. He felt around. He still had the sword of Gryffindor at his side, and his wand was in its holster.

Harry looked around, and saw that he was in a strange looking forest. _What the hell? This doesn't look like England!_

Suddenly it all came back to Harry in a flash. Voldemort. Realm Portal. The moment when he jumped into the portal. When he sensed Ginny and Hedwig jumping through the portal. _Ginny! _Harry thought worriedly.

He looked around again, unable to see the familiar fiery red hair of a Weasley. "Ginny?" Harry called out.

He looked at Hedwig helplessly. "Hedwig, find Ginny." The snowy owl gave a small hoot, and took off.

After a few minutes of calling for her, he started walking, still calling her name. Harry was extremely concerned for his friend.

Hedwig came back at that moment, and instead of coming to rest on his shoulder, she turned and flew towards another area of the forest that she came from. Harry chased after her. She had found Ginny!

Suddenly Harry started hearing voices, talking in some strange language. Harry couldn't tell what it was, and he didn't speak any language except English and Parseltounge.

_Then use the Omni Language charm, moron!_

_ Right._

Harry quickly pointed his wand at himself, and muttered, "Omnis Linguis."

Suddenly Harry was aware of what they were saying. "Kagome! Why are we wasting time with this human!" A male voice yelled out. It sounded harsh and demanding.

"Inuyasha! She's hurt! We need to take care of her! The jewel shards can wait!" An angry female voice responded.

He could barely make out a few more voices, but they were quieter, so he couldn't understand what they were saying. He crept cautiously towards them, and peeked out from a tree. Harry held back a gasp.

There, standing in the clearing, was a man with dog-ears! He was dressed in a strange robe, and carried a sword at his side. His golden amber eyes, barely seen through his silver hair flashed dangerously as he continued a yelling match with a girl. _This must be Kagome and Inuyasha, _Harry thought amusedly_._ They reminded him of Ron and Hermione.

The girl's clothing seemed out of place. She was wearing a strange school uniform, a white shirt with a ribbon and green collar, and a matching green skirt. She had raven black hair, like Harry, but it was sleek and straight, and her brown eyes reminded him of Ginny's eyes when she was angry.

Watching them was a man in strange black and purple robes, a woman also wearing strange clothes, and- a kid with a tail! _What the hell!_

The kid was tiny, probably barely older than six or seven, but he had a huge bushy tail, like a fox, and ears like one too! He was playing with a tiny kitten.

The man in black and purple robes had a staff, and he too, had black hair. His black eyes were twinkling in amusement as he watched the pair.

The woman, also with black hair, was looking exasperated at the pair, her own eyes rolling from time to time. The most amazing thing about her was the gigantic boomerang on her back. The man and woman would often glance at each other in exasperation.

And in the middle, laying still, was- "Ginny!" Harry cried out, bursting from the bushes. The group turned to look at him as he dashed towards the redhead's side. "Ginny! Are you okay!" Harry asked quickly, shaking her.

"She's unconscious." The older woman said gently. "It may take a few hours for her to wake up."

The others in the group nodded in agreement, save the silver haired man, who scoffed and looked away.

Harry thought about risking showing them magic. He was in a different universe, so what were the chances of there being a Ministry of Magic? Besides, he was in a different place as it was. Harry whipped out his wand, keeping it hidden, and muttered, "Enervate."

Ginny suddenly gasped and sat up. "Harry?" She asked fearfully, looking at the unfamiliar faces till she found a pair of emerald eyes she knew.

Harry grabbed her shoulders. "What the hell were you thinking, following me here!" Harry said fiercely, his green eyes shining with worry.

"I was thinking that you might need help Harry!" Ginny yelled back, all traces of her previous unconsciousness fading fast. "You don't have to beat Voldemort on your own!"

"Yes I do!" Harry yelled, turning away sharply. "I always have to do it on my own! That way no one else gets hurt!"

"Harry…" Ginny whispered. "Sorry. I wasn't thinking."

"Well, there's nothing we can do now." Harry said, exasperated as he turned back towards her.

"Where are we?" Ginny asked, a trace of fear in her voice.

"I don't know." Harry said quietly.

"You're in Japan." The younger woman said cheerfully.

"What did she say?" Ginny whispered, and Harry remembered she didn't have the Omni Language charm on her. Harry quickly cast it on her, filling her in on what it did, and what the girl said. The other's looked at them strangely, uncomprehending.

Ginny looked like she was about to faint, and Harry looked thoughtful. "So, who are you people?" Harry said at last.

"My name is Kagome!" The younger woman said in the same cheerful tone. "That's Inuyasha!" She said, pointing to the silver haired man who had turned away from them. "Feh!" The man said angrily.

"I'm Sango." The older woman said in a gentle tone.

"My name is Miroku." The black haired man said

"And I'm Shippo!" The fox tailed boy said eagerly. "That's Kilala." The boy added, pointing to the tiny kitten curled up near the tree.

* * *

Miroku watched the pair with interest. They looked far different from anyone he had ever seen, with the girl's flaming red hair and the boy's bright green eyes. _Interesting. They seem unfamiliar with the area, with Japan itself, yet they find themselves so deep into it. And they yelled at each other in a different language, yet speak our own language easily. Strange._

"My name is Ginny Weasley." The redhead said smiling.

"I'm Harry Potter." The green eyed boy seemed to be searching their eyes for a reaction, but when none came, he seemed almost- _relieved_?

"Now what are you two doing out here?" Sango asked concernedly. They looked barely older than Kagome herself! But the boy had a sword, and looked like he knew how to use it.

"We got lost." Harry said cautiously, but his eyes clearly stated he was lying.

"Like hell you were." Inuyasha said angrily, finally joining the conversation. "Don't lie."

Harry glared at Inuyasha, obviously annoyed with the older boy's arrogance and prideful way of carrying himself. "That's none of your business." Harry said coldly, his mood souring.

"Harry," Ginny said in a pleading tone as she place her hand on his arm, "Maybe they can help. We don't know the area…"

Harry looked torn between their need for aid, and the need to keep his presence a secret. Finally, he decided that he would need help. One could not fight a war without knowing the terrain. "Fine. The truth is, we're not from around here. We're not even from this _world_."

The word's sounded preposterous, but the boy had an air around him that a powerful and charismatic leader held, an aura you couldn't help but trust. The tone was far too serious to be a joke. Still, Inuyasha was skeptic.

"Feh. Why should we believe a pup like you?" Inuyasha asked, his tone still harsh and demanding.

Harry's green eyes flashed dangerously, clearly annoyed at being called a child. He looked at Ginny, and asked her quietly, "Will it matter if we show them?" He asked quietly.

"No, I suppose it won't." Ginny answered hesitantly.

"Very well." Harry said resignedly. "Is there magic in this world? Wizardry?" He questioned.

"Like priestess' or monk's spiritual powers?" Kagome asked.

"What?" Harry asked, mystified.

Kagome explained her powers of purification, and Miroku's sutras and Wind Tunnel. Harry seemed to take it in stride, but was still amazed at how different this world was.

"What we do is different." Harry said, and withdrew his wand.

"A stick?" Inuyasha said contemptuously, arching a skeptic eyebrow. Harry said nothing, but stood anyways.

"Avis." Harry said quietly, pointing the wand at Inuyasha. The flock of birds burst from the wand, startling everyone and leaving Inuyasha with a face full of birds.

"Ohh.. It's like a magician?" Kagome asked curiously, as Inuyasha fought the birds off. When he finished, he glared at Harry fiercely.

Ginny looked mystified, but Harry understood perfectly. "No, not like a magician. They use fake tricks. This is real. Maybe another demonstration is in order." Harry said with a smile. "Reducto." He said clearly as he pointed his wand at a tree a good distance from the clearing.

Everyone except Harry and Ginny was amazed as the jet of light sped towards the tree and blasted it apart, sending splinters flying, impaling different trees easily. "We're from another world," Harry said, continuing his explanation while noting the amazed looks on the group's faces, "And in our world, Wizards and Muggles, Muggles being non-magic people, are separate, with Wizards hiding from Muggles." Harry said, noting the strange expressions of each of their faces. "I came here through a portal, chasing a Dark Wizard known as Voldemort from our world."

"You! You're just a child!" Inuyasha sputtered disbelievingly. Kagome scolded him, and Harry shot him a death glare.

"I assure you, _sir_," Harry said coolly, with a sarcastic edge to the sir, "That I am well prepared and am the only one capable of bringing down this wizard. I do not know why he is here in your world, only that he seeks power. Specifically, immortality." Harry said the last part with an unsaid question. What grants that here?

"The Shikon Jewel…" Kagome whispered, half to herself, half to the guests. Comprehension dawned upon the faces of the Inuyasha group, but Harry and Ginny looked at Kagome strangely, obviously not knowing what the jewel was.

"Shikon Jewel?" Harry asked skeptically.

"You really are from another world." Inuyasha said snidely, obviously annoyed with their lack of knowledge.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome reprimanded the silver-haired man with a glare, before looking back to the pair with a slightly weary smile. "The Shikon Jewel is a powerful jewel that can grant you a wish. A single shard of it will enhance your natural power dramatically. If what you say is true, this Dark Wizard Voldemort may use the Jewel to either wish for immortality or enhance his power with a few shards."

Harry groaned. "Great… a more powerful Voldemort. That's exactly what I need…" Harry muttered to himself, before looking up to continue. "Then that's what he will be after. Where is this Jewel?"

For the first time, Kagome looked uncomfortable. "Umm…" She began, but Inuyasha interjected quickly. "This stupid wench broke the jewel!" He said angrily.

Ginny and Harry looked at Kagome, clearly wondering why in the hell she put up with this guy! They soon found out why.

"Inuyasha! I am not stupid! SIT!" Kagome cried angrily, and her words became reality as Inuyasha fell face first into the dirt, amplified by the rosary around his neck.

"Wow…" Harry muttered. _If Hermione had that kind of control over Ron, things would be far different_, Harry thought amusedly.

"Impressive." Ginny said in awe. She thought along the same lines as Harry, except even broader. If every girl had that control over their guy…

Harry noticed the others in the group watched the exchange between the silver-haired boy and the black-haired girl with mild expressions of annoyance and amusement. The same expressions and feelings Harry felt when he watched Hermione and Ron fight.

"Are they always like this?" Harry asked Miroku quietly, so as not to antagonize them.

"Yes, this happens a lot." Miroku said exasperated.

"They remind me of two of my friends. They fight a lot too, except she doesn't have the ability to do that…" Harry said with a smile. Then he remembered the fact that he was stranded on another world, and had little chance of getting back home unless he found Voldemort. At least he had Ginny with him.

Miroku could feel the boy's melancholy, and took the moment to study him. He seemed far too old and mature, especially for a boy probably barely older than Kagome. The boy had the look of someone who had seen far too much death in the world, someone who held a terrible burden that could destroy him. Someone like him.

However, Miroku decided not to ask about this just yet. He probably wouldn't tell him anything just yet. Maybe later.

A sudden screech brought everyone's attention away from the heated exchange. Sango reached for the Hiraikotsu, Inuyasha for Tetsusaiga, and Kagome for her bow.

"Wait!" Harry commanded, and without thinking about it, all of them, even Inuyasha relaxed. _Even stranger. _Miroku thought. _The boy is a natural leader. _

"Hedwig?" Harry called out cautiously.

In response, a loud screech was heard, and a flash of white swooped from the tree and landed on Harry's shoulder. The apparition in question was a strange bird, unlike any Miroku had ever seen. It was snow-white and had a large golden eyes and a different body structure.

"This is Hedwig." Harry explained as she nipped his ear reassuringly. "She's an owl."

"Ohhh.. I've heard of those in school!" Kagome exclaimed. "Owls are more common in Europe and America."

"This place is obviously still a little similar to our world, but there are key differences." Harry mused thoughtfully.

"Indeed." Miroku said, but he was now ogling the redhead. Quite pretty, and her hair like shimmering fire! Such nice assets as well…

Sango noticed this though, and growled menacingly. "Don't even think about it." Sango whispered dangerously.

"Think about what, dear Sango?" Miroku replied innocently, blinking in confusion.

"You know." She said flatly, with a clearly dangerous edge to her voice. She tapped a finger against her gigantic boomerang, the Hiraikotsu.

Miroku gulped. That thing cut apart demons! "I would never dream of it!" Miroku said indignantly.

* * *

Elsewhere, Lord Voldemort stood in front of an impressive looking fortress in the mountains. The evil in this place was so intoxicating; he had never experienced anything like it anywhere else. This was truly a place of power. However, he would tread cautiously. He had heard much of the tales of the Shikon Jewel from a few villages before he killed the occupants. With the ability to enhance one's power tenfold with a single shard, and a wish granted by the full jewel, it would be necessary to be cautious in his quest. _The most powerful item in the land_, Voldemort smirked.

He walked to the gate, an impressive and foreboding feature. Suddenly, on instinct, he felt a dark presence approach. He jumped to one side whipping his wand out. The sight that greeted him was most impressive. A cloud of demons flew towards him, intent on ripping him apart.

His snake-like face split into a pleased grin. A reception worthy of himself. Focusing himself for battle, he proceeded to fight over a hundred demons. The demons never had a chance. Within minutes, the battle, or rather massacre, was over.

As Voldemort put his wand back as he waded through the annihilated corpses, he chuckled. Such pathetic creatures. Where was the master! The true keeper of Darkness in this realm.

A stronger presence emerged from the shadows; Voldemort peered into them with his crimson eyes, searching for the dark soul. It was similar to what he sensed on the tip of his senses, a strange, enigmatic aura of dark energy, filled with hatred and malice. A kindred soul of darkness.

"Who are you?" A voice asked. Feminine. Rough, harsh, a warrior's tone.

"I am… a kindred spirit to the master of this castle. One who seeks to bring Darkness to this realm." Voldemort answered carefully.

A slender figure emerged from the shadows. A woman with crimson eyes studied him guardedly, a feather in her raven hair and dressed in a kimono. Voldemort could sense that hidden beneath the dark soul that seemed both her essence and separate from her, lay a soul wanting to be free, like the wind. A soul that he could entice into betraying her master. Perfect.

"Kindred?" The woman snorted. "What do you mean, kindred, human? What human shares the desire to bring Darkness to this world?"

Voldemort looked at her, still studying her. He was curious about this one. If the soul inside was enigmatic, this one was a true paradox. He would tread cautiously here; for the chances were that the Dark One in this realm was as cunning as himself. "I do." Voldemort answered at last. "Take me to see your master, or suffer the fate of those creatures."

The woman snorted again with amusement. "Those were mere weaklings. You would have a far more difficult time with me!"

"Perhaps." Voldemort sneered as he began reaching for his wand.

The woman withdrew her fan, her calm demeanor fading with her anger. "How dare you! You will die where you stand!" As she raised her fan and Voldemort moved to defend himself, she froze. She screamed in agony, an agony Voldemort was very familiar with. It was likened to the Cruciatus Curse.

Voldemort smiled. Whoever the master was, he obviously wished to speak with him. This, Voldemort knew, was the first step.

"It seems…" The woman gasped through the aftershock of the pain, "My master… wishes… you alive. And unharmed." She straightened, unwilling to show any more weakness to a potential opponent. _Smart girl_. Voldemort noted.

As Lord Voldemort was ushered into the castle, he fought the urge to raise a triumphant grin.

* * *

The two newcomers and the four travelers walked back to the Kaede's village, which they explained they used as a home base from time to time. On the way, Kagome and Ginny talked, Harry brooded, Inuyasha sulked, Miroku ogled Ginny some more, and Sango watched him closely, emitting threatening growls at Miroku from time to time.

Harry was preoccupied with his own thoughts. He was stuck on a world that he had no knowledge of, and little chance of finding Voldemort. "Kagome," Harry asked, "Where exactly are the shards of the jewel?"

Kagome, who had been discussing the differences in the world's with Ginny, thought about her answer for a few moments, before answering, "We have some, and there are other's scattered around this place still, but many lay with Naraku."

At the mention of Naraku, Miroku's held his wrapped hand with his other, unwrapped one, Sango's expression tightened, and Inuyasha's face contorted in anger.

"Naraku?" Harry asked, shivering slightly at the name. It sounded evil.

"A terrible demon. He was born fifty years ago from the thief, Onigumo." Kagome began, and opened her mouth to say more, but Inuyasha cut her off.

"They don't need to know anymore Kagome!" Inuyasha said sharply.

"They have a right to! They need our help!" Kagome protested. "And if this Voldemort character is as bad as they say he is, we'll need theirs!"

"Feh. I can take a human." Inuyasha scoffed. Harry thought it was time to put this guy in his place. Reminded him far too much of Draco Malfoy. And he loathed Malfoy.

"Perhaps, but let's see how you deal with a wizard." Harry said challengingly as he mentally prepared himself for battle, clearing his mind with Occulumency.

"Are you threatening me?" Inuyasha asked, his clawed hand moving towards the Tetsusaiga.

Miroku, Sango, and Shippo noticed the growing tension between the half-demon and the green-eyed wizard, and moved to interfere. Ginny saw the trouble brewing as well. This Inuyasha seemed to have quite the temper, and Harry's temper was legendary.

"Harry…" Ginny said warningly.

"Leave it Gin." Harry said sharply. "He's not going to listen unless shown exactly what wizards can do. We aren't normal humans!"

Inuyasha spat into the dirt, and grasped the hilt of the Tetsusaiga, growling warningly. "What are you going to show me, boy? More tricks?"

"There are spells that Voldemort knows that can kill you." Harry answered coolly, but his left hand strayed to the hilt of his own sword.

"So? I've faced plenty of things that can kill me." Inuyasha answered, unconvinced.

"Have you ever faced something that can kill on impact? Kill the second it touches you? Can kill regardless of any defense that you have? Because that's the spell I'm talking about." Harry said, unaffected by Inuyasha's tone.

"The Killing Curse," Harry lectured, "Moves quickly. It's a jet of green light, and nothing can save you once it hit's you. It's over." Harry looked at them all, and decided that explaining one more fact wouldn't hurt. A fact few were aware of.

"There is only one defense," Harry continued, and Ginny's eyes widened, "and that defense is the reason why I am famous in my world. Because of one thing, Voldemort was banished from his body for thirteen years by his own Killing Curse, which he threw at me when I was a year old."

"Why did he want to kill you?" Miroku asked.

Harry didn't answer, just looked slightly haunted. "Let's just say that my and his destinies are intertwined." Harry sighed.

"So what is this defense?" Kagome asked, wanting to know how to protect everyone.

"You want to try and use it?" Harry asked, raising a questioning eyebrow.

"Of course we do! If it can stop the enemy's attack, then of course!" Kagome said, incredulous.

"I'm afraid there is only one way to stop the Killing Curse. Love." Harry said flatly.

"Love? What is this shit!" Inuyasha said, his tone echoing Kagome's.

"I assure you, this is no joke. My mother _died_ for me, and her love shielded me from death. Is that an explanation?" Harry said as he whirled on Inuyasha, eye's blazing, as the emotions in his voice made it falter.

Inuyasha's barriers broke for a few seconds, and he understood what it was like to lose your mother. But to have her die for you… He stumbled back a few steps, unable to hold that blazing, piercing gaze for more than a few seconds, breaking eye contact.

"Your mother died when you were only a baby?" Kagome asked, horrified.

Harry nodded, the fire dying, swallowing the old pain. "My dad too. Dead defending his family against an opponent he couldn't hope to defeat. So I think it's pretty clear that there is no true defense against this curse. The best chance you have is to avoid it, or put something between it and you." Harry finished, gaining horrified looks from every member of the group, even Ginny. He could see pity in their eyes, and he hated that. He gave a sigh, and added, "Don't pity me. I hate that."

Inuyasha nodded, a little more respect in his eyes at the hard life this boy had led. Anyone who hated pity deserved a little more respect.

"Now then, what's this about a demon?" Harry said in a clear attempt to change the subject.

"Not now, everyone." Miroku cut in. "It's not good to stop right now. We'll talk when we reach Kaede's village."

Everyone agreed, and they proceeded on there way again, in a little more subdued silence.

* * *

Voldemort walked down the halls, led by the woman, resisting the overwhelming urge to stop and breathe in the darkness of this place. Intoxicating, mesmerizing, darkness. There was a power here, a power of light tainted by malice. A power separate from the dark soul of the castle. The power of the Shikon Jewel.

He remembered hiding in the shadows, sulking around, seeking a power in this world. A myth would be preferable, as some myths were often true. The case in point, the very book that brought him here. The Ethereal Tome.

A legendary tome, written by Merlin himself, which depicted the ancient rituals necessary to crossover into another world. A risky plan, for sure, but the power of other worlds called to him.

He had found another powerful myth here, in the Shikon Jewel, which was reported shattered. He could feel these scattered shards, their power a blinding beacon to one with the Sight. Obviously those in this world lacked the ability to feel out the power of these jewels. Not this one, though. This one had many shards, and was obviously a clever and manipulative being to do so, like him.

Voldemort had worked quickly in the few hours he had been here, managing to use his talents in persuasion and Parseltounge to convince a rather large snake demon to attack those who had a shard of the sacred jewel, and bring them to him.

Suddenly, the woman stopped in front of a room. "My master awaits you inside." She said with barely contained resentment and anger.

Voldemort smirked at her, and nodded his head mockingly as he stepped inside.

The first thing he noticed was the glaring amount of malice and treachery oozing from a source at the back of the room, accompanied by the strange, enigmatic energy of the Shikon Jewel. A voice spoke from the darkness. "Greetings." The voice was pleasant, but held the same tone as Voldemort had used on many occasions to deceive and trick unsuspecting wizards.

"Greetings, Dark One." Voldemort said, bowing slowly. His every ounce of Slytherin cunning was kicking into overdrive as he began his plan. "I have come here to offer my… services."

"Services?" The voice asked curiously, despite itself.

"I would gladly dispense of any problems you might have. I am more than capable of such feats." Voldemort said, his tone matching the others deceiving tone in perfect tandem.

"Indeed. Your abilities are intriguing. However, all good things come with a price. What is yours?" The voice was still fairly pleasant, but now held a definite hard edge to it.

"But a shard of the sacred Shikon Jewel, is all I require." Voldemort replied calmly.

"A single shard? You may need more than that to deal with my opponents. But then again," The voice considered, "you do have special talents. They will not know how to combat it. Very well."

"If I may ask, what is your name?" Voldemort asked guardedly.

"Call me Naraku."

* * *

"Lady Kaede!" Kagome called cheerfully as she ran down the hill, waving to a very ancient looking woman, hunched over with only one eye.

"Kagome! You have returned!" Kaede called back, looking at Kagome as a grandmother would look at her grandchild. "Who is this?" She asked, gesturing to Harry and Ginny.

"My name is Harry Potter," Harry said respectfully.

"I'm Ginny Weasley!" Ginny chimed in.

"I am Lady Kaede, priestess of this village. What brings you here?" Kaede asked curiously, intrigued by the strange appearance of the two young ones.

"They came here from another world, Kaede. They are chasing after an evil wizard, who wants the Shikon Jewel." Kagome explained.

"Another world? Truly?" Kaede asked in wonder.

"Yes." Harry said, nodding at her. "We came here for information regarding the Jewel, and Kagome said to come here."

"I see. Well, come inside then. We'll get you some tea first, for this is a long tale." Kaede said wearily, and motioned them to follow her back to the hut.

As they walked, Harry felt drawn into the woods by a strange, ancient power, and walked towards them slowly. "What's in these woods?" Harry asked over his shoulder.

"Not much, except the God Tree." Kagome answered, curious to know why he was heading into the woods.

"God Tree?" Harry asked as he stopped.

"Aye. The same tree Inuyasha slept in for fifty years." Kaede supplied.

Harry raised a questing eyebrow to the silver haired man, who scoffed and looked away, but Harry caught the pain in his eyes. "I see." Harry answered, figuring that the whole story would come soon enough, and started to walk again.

"Where are you going?" Kagome asked curiously.

"To see this tree." Harry answered simply. Ginny went after him, and Kagome, Inuyasha, and Kaede followed. After a good fifteen minutes of walking, they reached it. A gigantic tree that dominated the clearing. A tree that seemed to glow to anyone who could feel it with his or her magical senses.

"This is the God Tree," Kaede explained, "The sacred tree of our village, and a symbol of our guardian against evil."

"Inuyasha was stuck there for fifty years." Kagome added, and Inuyasha scowled.

Harry felt another connection with the half-demon. They both had been trapped unwillingly in a prison. Although sleeping for fifty years seemed better than ten years with the Dursleys.

"People come to this tree for guidance, to pray for things. It is said that this tree is a powerful source of Light." Kaede went on, explaining the tree's mystical energy.

"I need guidance." Harry muttered to himself. The desperation of his situation had begun to settle in on him.

"What?" Ginny asked. _She still didn't know the Prophecy, nor just how desperate their situation was at the moment_, Harry knew.

"I need to know what to do now. I've followed Voldemort." Harry was glad Ginny flinched less, at the very least. "Now what. What do I do now?" There was nothing but silence to answer him. Everyone, even Ginny looked away, unable to give him an answer.

"It all seems so hopeless Ginny. I haven't finished my training, and now Voldemort has a powerful new ally, and something that will give him even more of an advantage over me." Harry said quietly, pleadingly.

"You will beat him Harry." Ginny said quietly, placing her hand on his shoulder. Kagome looked happily at them, Kaede just look onward, and Inuyasha stayed the same, just ignoring the situation.

_But how can I beat Voldemort without more training. Where can I get more aid?_ Harry asked silently.

Suddenly Harry heard a branch crack. "Get down!" He and Inuyasha cried, moving out of the way and pushing the girls away at the same time.

The branch fell softly onto the grass, a beautifully proportioned one, not too thin, nor too wide, nor too long, nor too short. Harry could feel the mystical properties emanating from this branch. Hesitantly, he moved closer to it, and grabbed it. A familiar feeling of warmth, the same as when he first held his wand, flooded him, and the staff glowed bright blue for a moment, before it faded.

"The God Tree has given you its protection and power…" Kaede whispered in awe. "You are truly someone of power and light if it would grant you a branch from itself. This has never happened before."

Harry looked in awe of his new staff, and knew he had found a powerful weapon to help crush Voldemort. "Thank you." He whispered to the God Tree, somehow knowing or believing that it could hear him.

A sudden rustling noise from the trees brought them out of their stupor from seeing the God Tree give Harry a staff.

As Inuyasha reached for Tetsusaiga, Harry and Ginny for their wands, and Kagome for her bow, they scanned the tree line, anxious for any signs of a threat. Suddenly, a loud hiss was heard as a snake demon slithered from the trees.

Inuyasha moved to pull out his sword and strike the serpent down, but Harry stayed him with his hand. "Let me try talking with him." Harry said calmly.

"Talk? This kind of demon doesn't even know how!" Inuyasha scoffed.

Harry ignored him, and stepped close to the snake, his arms in a gesture of peace. 'Peace, snake.' Harry said cautiously in Parseltounge, earning wide eyes from every person around, even Ginny, who knew he spoke Parseltounge.

'You ssssspeeak my language?' The snake hissed back in wonder.

'Indeed. Why have you come here?' Harry asked.

'I was coaxed into attacking those who have sacred jewel shards by another one who speaks our language.' The snake hissed. 'He promised me much meat and a shard of the sacred jewel.'

Harry noted that the sacred jewel must be another term for Shikon Jewel. 'Tell me, did the one who promised you this look like one of your kind? With red eyes and no hair?' Harry asked cautiously, his hand drifting to the hilt of his sword. If the snake decided to strike, Harry would have to kill it. He wanted to wait, at least, until he had some more knowledge about this Naraku and Lord Voldemort.

'Yessssss.' The snake whispered.

'He liessss. He will deceive you.' Harry hissed. 'He wantssss the jewel for himself, and would kill you easily.'

'Perhapssss you are correct. I ssssensssed deceit on him. But hisss voice had no liesssss.' The snake countered.

'He issss good at hiding hissss feelingssss. You would not know.' Harry said.

'How do I know you are not lying?' The snake asked.

'I am not.' Harry said, laying his Occulumency shields aside for a moment so the snake could see the truth.

'Indeed. You do not lie. I cannot smell deceit upon you, nor in your voice.' The snake admitted, then looked angry at being deceived by Voldemort. 'The deceiver will pay!'

'Could you tell me where the deceiver went?' Harry asked.

'He wassss headed north.' The snake said.

'Thank you. I'd advise you to leave. The silver one is dangerous.' Harry hissed, trying to avoid a fight.

'Very well.' The snake hissed, and slithered off.

Harry sighed. Voldemort had already begun weaving another web of lies and deceit here. He looked up, the clarity from the experience with the God Tree forgotten after the incident. Inuyasha's voice brought him out of his reverie.

"What happened!"

"It seems Voldemort convinced that snake demon to attack anyone who had a sacred jewel shard, in exchange for a shard and meat." Harry said wearily.

"How did he do that? And how did you talk with that snake!" Inuyasha demanded.

"Voldemort can speak Parseltounge, the snake language. Because of that, and a transfer of powers, so can I." Harry said in the same weary voice.

"I see. We'd best go back inside. There's no telling what else this Voldemort character could do." Kaede said, motioning them to leave the forest once more.

As they turned to walk back, Harry noticed that Ginny seemed a little shell-shocked. "Ginny, are you alright?" He asked concernedly.

"Harry… I could understand what you were saying." Ginny said in a frightened voice, the same voice he heard when she had been in the Chamber of Secrets.

"What? Really?" Harry said in amazement. "How?"

"It must have happened when he possessed me." Ginny whispered, half-afraid to admit it. Sensing this, Harry pulled her closer to him, and she was far too upset to protest as he held her.

"Ginny. It's nothing to be ashamed of." Harry whispered soothingly.

"Yes it is! I've got part of him inside of me! I'm just like him now!" Ginny yelled hysterically into Harry's chest, earning them strange looks from the others. Harry just gave them a pleading look to ignore the situation as he turned back to her.

"Ginny. It's fine. I've got a part of him inside of me as well." Harry said, and she looked up at him in amazement. "It's true. That night he gave me this scar and was booted out of his body, I got some of his abilities. It's not our abilities that make us who we are, but our choices. Just make the right choices with your talent."

Ginny smiled at him, a slight blush creeping on her cheeks. "Thanks Harry." She whispered, and kissed him on the cheek before walking off.

Kagome smiled at them, but Inuyasha had other concerns. "What do you mean, you have a part of him inside of you!" He yelled.

"It's quite simple. The night he attacked me, he gave me some of his powers! And when he possessed Ginny, he did the same!" Harry said heatedly. Inuyasha growled threateningly, trying to get Harry to bow down to him in a kind of power struggle.

"Look guys. It's getting late, and it's been a long day. Maybe we should rest for now, and tell the story tomorrow." Kagome said, trying to avoid another argument with the two. Harry nodded, and Inuyasha just scoffed and turned away as they headed in.

* * *

Voldemort stood before Naraku, two dark entities with their own agendas, brought together for one dark purpose. "So, who do I have to kill?" Voldemort asked, eager for a kill despite himself. It had been far too long since he had last been on the hunt. Fighting a covert war with the Order of the Phoenix and the Ministry was not as exhilarating as the rush he still gained from hunting an opponent down.

"There is a group of travelers who have become an annoyance to me. Kill them." Naraku said flatly, all pleasantries gone from his voice.

"Where can I find them?" Voldemort asked. Loath as he was to play second fiddle to another, let alone as a personal assassin, his losses and natural Slytherin cunning gave him clarity. In a foreign environment, lacking any support, it was best to work his way into an opponent's confidence, before betraying them.

Naraku didn't respond. Instead, he turned towards a curtained area to his left. "Kanna!" He called imperiously.

A small girl with snow-white hair and strange features came out slowly, carrying a mirror. "Kanna… show me Inuyasha's location."

The small girl nodded, and the mirror glowed for a moment before showing an overhead view of a silver haired man with dog-ears. The sight threw Voldemort off for a moment, but he retained his composure. "This is the person I have to kill?" Voldemort asked.

"Not just him." Naraku said, and the mirror's picture zoomed out, showing more people. Voldemort could not help a slight gasp at the sight of a familiar black haired boy.

"Potter." He snarled, unable to stop the hated word spilling from his lips.

"Friend of yours?" Naraku said, but his tone clearly stated he was mocking him.

"Not even. It seems that Potter has seen fit to follow me here." Voldemort muttered angrily.

"He's but a child." Naraku replied.

"A child who has an uncanny ability to mess up even the best plans." Voldemort shot back, and he noticed another familiar visage.

"And the Weasley girl. Strange." Voldemort muttered.

"Is this too difficult now that your enemies have followed you here, and have joined with mine?" Naraku asked.

"No. I will merely require a change of strategy. It will be much easier to lure Potter here. He will do anything to save anyone." Voldemort replied.

"Good. Your targets, the others, would come along, given the right incentive." Naraku grinned evilly.

Voldemort admired the obvious Slytherin qualities of this demon. So much like him. Which was why, of course, neither of them trusted the other. "Then let us give both of them the proper incentive." Voldemort grinned back.

* * *

"You all should just relax. Harry and Ginny, you two can explore the village until it's dinner time, alright?" Kagome called out, and the group nodded. Ginny and Shippo stayed inside, wanting to talk with Kagome some more. Miroku went out, probably to pick up some girls, and Sango followed him, to keep him out of trouble. Inuyasha stood at the entrance to the hut, taking in the events of the day.

Inuyasha looked at Harry, who was outside, cleaning his sword calmly, taking in the situation in stride. He hadn't panicked, but he hadn't gone off to fight his enemy. The boy was an enigma to him. So different from himself, but determined to protect not only his pack, but also anyone else. In some ways, he found himself in awe of the boy's clearly pure heart, so much like his Kagome's, yet so fierce, like himself.

_Wait a second. My Kagome! What the hell!_

Inuyasha decided that all this sitting and waiting was doing nothing for him, and as Kagome would not let him go tearing back out into the woods to find Naraku and this Voldemort character and rip his throat out if he wanted the shards. "You any good with that sword?" Inuyasha asked harshly, questioningly. If it came to it, he didn't want to watch a bunch of pups while in combat.

Harry turned to him, raising a sardonic eyebrow. "Of course. You know how to use that sword?"

Inuyasha growled. "Far better than you."

"Is that right?" Harry said, keeping his cool around the hotheaded half-demon. He stopped cleaning his sword, staring intently at the older boy.

"Yeah. But how about I prove it. Let's spar. This standing around is boring." Inuyasha said, hand moving to his sword.

Harry looked at him, gauging him. The older boy moved with an animal grace and speed, and he was obviously skilled and alert due to his natural instinct with the sword. Harry also had to admit he hated standing around as much as Inuyasha, loath as he was to admit similarity with the arrogant man. "Fine. I'm not much for standing around and waiting either." Harry said, taking his sword stance.

Inuyasha withdrew the Tetsusaiga, and Harry was amazed at the sword. The sheath was far too small for that blade! The hilt held fur on it, and the blade was gigantic in proportion to the body, still in the curved shape of a katana, but with far more length, more like a machete than the thin and strong katanas he had read about when training with Remus.

Inuyasha smiled. The boy was obviously impressed with the Tetsusaiga. "Are you going to back down?" Inuyasha challenged.

"Not a chance." Harry answered calmly, the awe and any other emotion fading from his eyes. "Rules?"

"First blood too much for you, pup?" Inuyasha said in a mocking tone.

"No." Harry answered calmly as he used Occulumency to flush the last of his emotions out of his system.

For what could have been seconds, could have been hours, they stared each other down, gauging and weighing the other, determining who would make the first move. Finally, Inuyasha broke it, coming at him with an overhead slash.

Harry, unwilling to be forced back in case Inuyasha proved to be stronger, sidestepped the blow and slashed towards his midsection.

Inuyasha danced away from it easily, and came at Harry in a flurry of strikes. Harry parried the blows casually it seemed, but in reality was gauging their angles and speed and countering them effectively. It was a clash of sword styles, an animalistic, feverish assault, against calm, precise attacks.

"Is this all you've got?" Harry challenged as the assault lessened, but in reality, he was tiring. Strong and fast, aided by magic, he was still finding it difficult to match Inuyasha's amazing strength. Remus was already skilled, and due to his werewolf status he had great strength, but Inuyasha was even stronger and faster.

To answer, Inuyasha roared and came at him with another furious assault, which Harry had more difficulty parrying, until he was finally forced to step back and lose ground. Inuyasha smiled, Harry was beginning to break as he battered Harry's sword back.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried reproachfully, as Ginny cried, "Harry!" in the same tone. The girls had rushed out once they heard the sounds of sword fighting, and found the boys locked in combat.

Inuyasha didn't give them a response, too focused on battering Harry back into a tree so he could finish the fight. Harry, on the other hand, calmly replied as he parried a dangerously close slash, "We're sparring."

Harry, noticing Inuyasha's attempt to corner him, decided to pull a little trick out of his bag and Apparated behind Inuyasha. The other's, who had been talking around the area, came quickly at the sound of sword fighting, gasped in surprise with Inuyasha.

Luckily, Inuyasha's demon instincts kicked in as he registered the crack in the air behind him. He spun around and barely parried the slash that Harry sent towards his midsection. As he stared in surprise, the boy gave a roughish smile and disappeared again with a crack.

Inuyasha turned his head wildly, sniffing the air and using his keen hearing to catch Harry. He registered several more cracks surrounding him, but each time he turned, Harry had already gone.

"What's he doing, Ginny?" Kagome asked in awe.

"Apparating… but you're only allowed to do that when you turn 17…" Ginny said, trailing off. _Where the hell did Harry learned to fight like this! _She wondered.

"Come out and fight me!" Inuyasha demanded angrily.

"Fine." Harry said, retaining his ethereal calm from his unknown position. The constant short-distance Apparating was draining on his reserves, but a meal and a good nights rest would solve that.

In a blur, Harry went on the offensive, Apparating directly in front of Inuyasha, unleashing a blur of precise attacks, all the while retaining his calm. Now Inuyasha was the one on the defensive, backing away with every strike, the larger sword unable to keep up with the sword of Godric Gryffindor, which was light and quick, every strike carefully planned.

Inuyasha found himself growing desperate, unwilling to lose, even if it was a mere sparring match and not a battle. He would not lose to a mere boy! Mustering all his demonic strength, he threw it all into one last parrying blow that caught Harry's own sword in a powerful clash.

The two swords colliding forced them from their owner's grips as they flew into the dirt, a good distance between them and the fighters. The Tetsusaiga transformed back into a regular, rusty sword, which further mystified Harry. The two looked at each other, then at the swords, as if daring the other to make the first move towards them.

Suddenly, Inuyasha made the break, almost flying towards his sword, while Harry outstretched his hand. Suddenly, both swords flew towards Harry's hands, which caught them easily. Inuyasha growled at his opponent, but knew that in a fight, you sometimes had to fight dirty, with tricks you're opponent isn't aware of. His respect of the boy's fighting skills grew as the fight elongated.

Harry grinned wolfishly, like a wolf that caught it's prey. In a blur, Harry went on another precise, almost machine-like assault with both swords in tandem. Only Inuyasha's battle honed demon reflexes kept him in the fight as he dodged blow after blow. Even a rusty Tetsusaiga could cut him, ending the match.

Inuyasha suddenly grabbed the Tetsusaiaga sheath at his side and blocked the Tetsusaiga with it, causing it to fly from Harry's grasp. Harry's eyes widened in surprise, leaving Inuyasha able to deliver a fist into the younger man's midsection. As Harry's breath left him as he doubled over, winded, Inuyasha leapt over him and grabbed the Tetsusaiga in mid-leap, where it transformed back in an instant as he spun around to deliver the winning blow. Harry spun at the same time, regaining his balance.

Harry slashed at the same time as Inuyasha, causing the blades to pass narrowly by each other, when they caused slight cuts on their opponent. Harry's face trickled blood down a slight cut on his cheek, and Inuyasha had a shallow slice on his arm. A tie.

* * *

"Does he always sleep on the roof?" Harry asked Kagome as they went inside to rest for the night, after a delicious and exotic (for Harry and Ginny, at least) dinner, with the exception of Inuyasha, who went onto the roof.

"Yeah. Don't let him fool you with his tough guy attitude. He does it to watch out for us." Kagome said, the fondness evident in her voice.

Harry just looked at her, wondering if that tough guy attitude really was just a mask to keep others at bay. "Maybe." Harry offered finally, and went in.

Sometime later, Harry awoke from another chilling nightmare, which thankfully, didn't leave him screaming, merely in a cold sweat. He walked outside shakily, trying to get his bearings straight with some fresh air.

"What are you doing?" A harsh voice asked.

Harry resisted the urge to groan. _Great. Inuyasha._

"Just needed some air." Harry said without turning around.

"Feh. It's dangerous at this time. You're not scared of the dark, pup?" Inuyasha asked mockingly.

Harry's temper rose at being called a pup, but he calmly replied, "Of course not. Fighting for your life gives you little else to be scared about."

Inuyasha said nothing for a while.

"You looked like you knew how to fight with that sword, but you're just a pup. Where'd you learn that?" Inuyasha finally said, breaking the strange silence.

"First of all, if you don't want me to kick your bloody arse, then I'd advise you to stop calling me a pup. My name's Harry." Harry said irritably, "And secondly, my life isn't exactly what you'd call normal."

"Arse?"

"Um…" Harry said, thrown off by the change of subject and explaining what an arse is. "I suppose in you're language it's ass."

Inuyasha snorted, and said, "Yeah right."

Harry turned, wearing an amused expression on his face. "Excuse me, I believe I had the upper hand on that fight."

Inuyasha got up, much easier to bait than Harry anticipated. "Upper hand?!" Inuyasha said indignantly, "I had you! You just got lucky!"

"Lucky? I don't think so." Harry said, still in the same calm voice that was laced with self-confidence, and inwardly, he was amused. Inuyasha seemed to be a cross between Draco and Ron, both arrogant and reckless, easy to anger.

"Feh! You want another round!" Inuyasha cried, jumping down from the roof, hand on Tetsusaiga.

"Nah. Not now." Harry said casually, waving him away. "We don't want to wake the others. Especially Ginny. That one's got a right temper on her."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at this, considering what would happen if Kagome woke up. She'd probably sit him until his back was out again. "Good point." Inuyasha said grudgingly. Another strange silence passed between the two, but lacked the tension of the earlier silences.

"You didn't sleep?" Harry said finally, trying to change the subject.

"I don't sleep well." Inuyasha said curtly. "What about you?"

"I don't sleep too well either," Harry admitted softly.

"Why?" Inuyasha asked, obviously unaffected by tact.

"Because… my past isn't exactly a very happy thing." Harry said at last, reluctant to admit this to the arrogant half-demon.

Inuyasha nodded, not so much for acceptance so much as admitting that he too, had a haunted past. "What happened?" Inuyasha asked, surprising himself and Harry.

Harry was momentarily thrown by the question, but said, "Voldemort wants to kill my friends. I've seen him kill before, and he's already gotten my parents and my godfather. That's what my nightmares are about Silly, isn't it? I can't deal with nightmares." Harry chuckled.

Though Inuyasha said nothing in response, he knew that he had deep fears about Naraku killing Sango, Shippo, Kagome, even Miroku as well.

There was another long silence, and Harry was about to go back in when Inuyasha spoke. "Naraku killed the woman I loved and made me believe she betrayed me, and that I betrayed her."

Harry's eyes widened in surprise, and he said, "That's why you were stuck to the God Tree for fifty years?"

Inuyasha nodded. "She thought I betrayed her, so she shot me with an arrow and sealed me to that damn tree." The bitterness was clear in Inuyasha's voice, along with the great sadness.

"Who freed you?" Harry asked, slightly afraid Inuyasha would clam up and say nothing.

"Kagome." Inuyasha said simply, but his voice was now laced with a mixture of pride, love, and gratefulness.

"I see." Harry said, weighing a decision about telling Inuyasha another story of his past, and decided that it was only fair to tell Inuyasha, since he shared far more than necessary. "I knew someone who was betrayed similarly. A close friend betrayed my godfather, Sirius Black. He sold him out, and he was sentenced to Azakaban, what amounts to hell on my world. You relive your worst memories there during your every waking moment, and chances are your dreams aren't too pleasant either."

Inuyasha eyes widened in horror, knowing that the man Harry spoke of wistfully had suffered even more than Inuyasha himself. Sleeping for fifty years was difficult, but when you're awake and reliving a nightmare for twelve years…

"He broke out to seek revenge on the man who betrayed him, and killed my parents." Harry added softly.

"He killed your parents? I thought you said Voldemort killed them." Inuyasha said, his tone less harsh.

"My parents trusted this friend to keep their hiding place a secret. He sold them out." Harry said flatly.

"Did your godfather get his revenge?" Inuyasha asked.

Harry winced and sighed. "No. He was killed before he could do that, or even prove his innocence." The painful pangs when talking about Sirius had numbed to become dull throbs.

"Do you want revenge on Voldemort and the man who betrayed your parents?" Inuyasha asked, wanting to know just how determined the young wizard was.

"Do you want revenge on Naraku?" Harry shot back.

"Yes."

With Inuyasha's response, a kind of unspoken agreement fell on the two. They learned more about the other, two men who had lost so much to an enemy that was still alive. An enemy that they vowed to destroy.

* * *

Inside the hut, another conversation went on as two pairs of brown eyes watched the two boys.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Kagome asked quietly, so as not to wake the others.

"I don't know, but it looks like they're getting along better now." Ginny whispered, relieved to see the tension between the two alleviated. She looked fondly at Harry as he talked with Inuyasha, making a sort of peace or truce with him, which Kagome noted.

"So… do you like Harry?" Kagome asked mischievously.

Ginny blushed scarlet, hoping the night would hide it as she whispered, "Of course I do. He's my friend."

"Just a friend?" Kagome asked, her eyes shining in amusement.

"Well…" Ginny said as her face practically glowed with embarrassment.

"I knew it!" Kagome whispered excitedly.

"How?" Ginny asked. _Am I really that obvious?_ She asked herself.

"The way you look at him, and the way he looks at you…" Kagome said, sighing happily yet with a trace of jealousy. _Why can't Inuyasha be more like that?_ Kagome asked herself, knowing that the half-demon had never looked at her that way. Or so she thought, anyway.

"Come off it! He doesn't look at me like that! I'm just his best friend's little sister!" Ginny whispered furiously, not daring to hope.

"Maybe…" Kagome said, not wanting to antagonize her new friend.

"What about you and that Inuyasha?" Ginny countered, trying to change the subject.

Kagome blushed. _Am I that obvious? _She thought, echoing Ginny's thoughts only moments ago. "We're just friends!"

"I know two people who fight a lot, just like you. They're not 'just' friends." Ginny smirked, remembering how both Ron and Hermione had feelings for the other, and were just moving too slow.

"But we are just friends!" Kagome whispered back heatedly. "Besides, Inuyasha likes someone else," Kagome muttered with a tone of despair.

Ginny could tell there was more to this story then meets the eye, but right now, she'd settle for arguing her point a little more. "He looks at you, you know." Ginny whispered, wishing that Harry thought of her that way.

"He doesn't!" Kagome whispered back heatedly.

"Fine. Let's just go to sleep." Ginny said resignedly, unwilling to start a fight.

AN: Wow. These chapters are amazingly long! The words just flow from the page! I suppose the reason is the cool character interactions. I had fun writing the Harry and Inuyasha exchanges, and who doesn't have fun writing Miroku? Is Inuyasha OOC? I tried to put him as in character as possible, but I suppose the little bonding session with Harry was out of character. I've placed the Inuyasha time frame somewhere before they drive Naraku into the mountains. I really don't know exactly when, or what episode it's after, and I frankly don't care much. Thanks for reading and please review!


	3. Wandering and Deceit

Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter or any of the universes you see here.

Thanks to moirariordan, Lorielle, possom2009, Andrew Roberts, Lady Phoenix Slytherin, Aishwarya, Harry/GinnyFan4ever, Dark Betrayal, Adrelliehs, cominggilr, the DragonBard, OrionTheHunter, Tanydwr, Tenshi No Hikaru, gaul1 for reviewing!

Q&A

Andrew Roberts- Thanks for the suggestions. Those just might work.

Aishwarya- Yeah, I was hoping to make the Inuyasha world friendly to those who don't know it too well. I figured I'd cross it over with Buffy in soon, and Angel will be thrown in (most likely). X-Men is a little trickier, but I might do it.

Dark Betrayal- Yu Yu Hakusho is another one of those worlds that I could see crossed over, but I need to work a few things out. But it's a personal favorite of mine, like Inuyasha, so it has a good chance of making it.

Adrelliehs- It's quite alright to ask. It's multiple crossovers, to make things interesting. Voldemort's powers are currently under wraps (you don't want the story spoiled now, do you?).

the DragonBard- Interesting idea. I'm playing with that idea of the sword being changed, but I'm not quite sure yet. It won't happen in this universe, but may be changed later. All Harry's items have significant impact on the story. Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions. I have heard of all of them, but I don't have enough knowledge of them to make a good plotline yet. If you could get me a site or something with some info in your next review, that'd be great.

Tanydwr- He can get immortality here, but if something goes wrong… Extra ideas are always welcome, though.

Tenshi No Hikaru- FF8? Well, I have chosen two Final Fantasy games already, but maybe. I don't really know enough about FF8, having never played farther than past the tutorial. Starfox? Sorry, I can't exactly work that in, not with the plot I've created. Yes, there is an actual, real, plot to this! Grandia X, I'm sorry to say I've never heard of.

AN: Sorry this took so long. Apparently my muse has decided that this story must be elongated and changed a bit. That, and the fact that I'm coming up with more plot bunnies than two rabbits in a sock. I got sidetracked with many other stories, three stories in particular, and I'm hoping one, at least, will be ready to go soon. All of them are darker and one is angsty, something I don't really have much of a stomach for. These chapters are going to have to go slower than my other stories, mainly because of the length of the chapters. The reason that Chapter 2 came out quicker was due to the fact that it was already 50% finished by the time Chapter 1 was up. Anyways, Inuyasha is going to be AU, as I'm going to end the series within this story. (I'd like to write how I think they'll kill Naraku.)

Chapter 3 Wandering and Deceit

The next morning, it was clear to see that the tension residing between Harry and Inuyasha had vanished, and a kind of truce was place there instead.

As Kagome went up to practice with her bow, not wanting to get rusty, especially now that things were getting more and more dangerous. As she finished another round with fairly good results, Ginny approached her. "Wow… could you teach me how to do that?" She asked.

Kagome smiled at the girl. "Sure. I'm not that great, but I can teach you. Lady Kaede should be able to help us out too." She mused, and called out, "Lady Kaede! Could you help me teach Ginny to use the bow?"

Kaede stepped out of the hut slowly, and gave Kagome a warm smile. "Of course child."

As the three women set up to train Ginny in archery. "Now, are you right or left handed?" Kagome asked as she handed Ginny an extra bow and arrows.

"Right." Ginny replied, taking the bow into her hands and strapping the arrows to her back.

"Now, hold the bow firmly with your left hand in the middle area, where the cloth is." Kagome instructed, and Ginny nodded and followed the instructions. "Next," Kagome continued, "take an arrow from your arrow pouch with your right hand, over your shoulder. Just like that." Kagome said as Ginny grabbed the arrow. "Now put the end of arrow on the string, and position the tip on the cloth. Pull the string as tight as possible. And, fire!"

Ginny released the arrow, and was pleased to see it fly straight, hitting the target a bit to the right. "I did it!" She cried happily.

"Good job Ginny! You're a quick study!" Kagome praised.

After a few more tries, Ginny's progress was quite good, proving to be a natural in archery. "Very good child. It is rare to see one so young so skilled in archery. You are truly exceptional."

Ginny blushed with the praise, trying to wave it off. "Do you think I could make one on my own?" Ginny asked, wanting to keep a weapon with her, just in case.

"Sure! We have some extras, Ginny. There's no need for that." Kagome assured her, and Ginny smiled gratefully and thanked her and Kaede. "We'll have to teach you to make arrows, though you'll need to be careful!"

"It's too bad I didn't bring my trunk. It could carry any arrows I make, and some of that delicious food from last night." Ginny said wistfully. At this, Kagome was struck with a sudden idea, and decided to act on it.

"Well, I have to go run some errands back home now, but I'll be back before night. We'll tell the story of the Shikon Jewel tonight, okay?" Kagome asked, her eyes twinkling.

"Sure." Ginny responded. "Wait? What do you mean, home? Where do you live?" She asked, thinking that the village was her home.

"Oh, I live on the other side of the Bone-Eaters well, in the future." Kagome responded.

"The future?" Ginny asked, her bright brown eyes widening.

"Yeah. It's kind of hard, juggling helping around here and doing schoolwork at home." Kagome said wearily.

"Could I see the well?" Ginny said curiously.

"Sure!" Kagome said, and the two girls walked off into the woods.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the back of the village, close to the woods, Harry was trying out his new staff, not having any time yesterday to test its capabilities, while Hedwig watched curiously. He raised it, waved it, but it gave him no response. _Maybe I should try doing magic with it?_ Harry wondered. _Let's start small, _He decided.

Harry raised the staff, focusing on the rock in front of him with a Banishing Charm, the way he had trained to do it wandlessly, by taking the magic from his very core and shaping it, but this time, he had a focus to make things easier. He found it even easier than a wand to use as his magic nearly instinctively formed around the staff. A second later, the rock was blasted from it's resting spot and into a tree across from Harry, smashing the tree and causing it to fall. Harry gave a small gasp of surprise before dodging out of the way.

Hedwig gave an indignant hoot, and glared at Harry, who smiled apologetically.

_Okay… The staff is VERY good at focusing magic. _

Harry decided that he would play it safe with his new staff, unwilling to see the results of a more powerful spell just yet. He decided to start on another basic spell. "Lumos." Harry said quietly.

The mini star that popped out from the tip of the staff was blinding, glaring, to all those who happened to look upon it. Harry was amazed at how bright it was. For the first couple of weeks in wandless training, his Lumos spell had been weak, barely able to glow, much less illuminate. His wand normally could illuminate a room like a 360 flashlight, albeit a weak one. But this, this was truly extraordinary.

Harry considered how powerful something like the Exploding Spell could be with this staff as his focus, or even the Killing Curse. Harry hated the thought of using such a dangerous and not to mention illegal, curse, but it seemed an ever-present option for him. Harry tried his best to think of another, better way to do things. None came just yet.

Still, Harry decided that testing anymore of the staff's capabilities wasn't smart around flammable objects. He turned away, and began a slow walk towards the village, savoring the clean air and the sunshine on the beautiful day. It wasn't often that he got a chance to simply sit down and enjoy something like this.

Of course, his thoughts strayed to obvious problems. They were stranded, with little information about Voldemort, very little intelligence or reconnaissance, and with no hope of returning home save if Voldemort went back and they were lucky enough to follow.

_What if he's already left? What if we'll never get home? What if-_

Harry's thoughts were interrupted when Hedwig flew towards his shoulder, squeezing it tightly with her razor sharp talons, as if reassuring him that in the end, everything would be okay. Harry just wished he could truly believe it, now more than ever.

* * *

Kagome led Ginny deep into the woods, close to where the God Tree stood, until they neared another clearing. In the center of the clearing lay an ancient, dried up well. "Well, this is it!" Kagome said, snickering at her slight pun.

"That's not funny." Ginny said dryly, but she chuckled along with Kagome. "So, you go down this creepy looking well a lot?" She asked, once the chuckling had subsided.

"Yeah." Kagome said, sighing wistfully. "It's tough. I'd better hurry, though."

Ginny raised her eyebrow questioningly, and Kagome added, "Inuyasha doesn't like it when I go back. Once he tried to cover up the well!"

"Sounds like he misses you a lot." Ginny teased, and Kagome blushed. She wasn't used to being teased, seeing as how only a few people knew she was here, and even fewer knew how she felt towards a certain half-demon.

"Yeah, he misses his jewel detector." Kagome said this in a joking manner, but there was no mistaking the slightly bitter edge to her voice.

"Hey, I'm sure he cares about you a lot." Ginny said soothingly, noting that she hit a sore spot.

Kagome suddenly smiled, her cheerful demeanor rarely affected for long, except by Inuyasha. "Maybe." Kagome said, then finally stood up. "Well, I'd better get going."

Just then, a red blur dashed out of the woods, and landed in front of the two girls, causing them to shriek in fright. "Inuyasha!" Kagome cried angrily, once they realized who was in front of them. "Don't do that!"

"Where are you going?" Inuyasha asked roughly, ignoring the rants of Kagome.

"Back home. I need to go get some supplies." Kagome stated, and looked right into Inuyasha's eyes, challenging him to say something. Of course, Inuyasha rarely ever thinks before he acts, especially in the presence of certain women.

"No you're not. You're staying here! We need to get back to tracking Naraku!" Inuyasha snarled, and stepped closer to Kagome.

"Inuyasha." Kagome said sweetly, and both he and Ginny, who had been watching the argument with amusement etched on her features, looked at her in confusion. "Sit."

By the time Inuyasha picked himself out of the hole in the ground, Kagome was down the well, and Ginny was already walking away back towards the woods, giggling.

"Damn rosary." Inuyasha swore, and took off back to the woods in a huff.

* * *

By the time Kagome returned, night had almost fallen. "Kagome!" Sango called out cheerfully, waving towards the younger girl.

"Sango!" Kagome said, smiling at the girl she considered a surrogate sister.

"What's in the bags, Kagome?" Sango asked, now noticing the large backpacks and bags Kagome was carrying.

"Just some extra supplies for Ginny and Harry." Kagome smiled.

Sango smiled back at the younger girl, at the kindness and compassion that this young woman held. In a way, she was the glue that held the rest of the group together. All of them, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and especially Inuyasha, were broken souls with no one else, and this young woman came into their lives and changed them all for the better. "You're always so considerate, Kagome." Sango praised, and Kagome blushed.

"It was nothing. They need it, and I have more than enough money from my saved allowance. I don't really need it, seeing as how I spend most of my time here." Kagome said, waving away the praise. "Now, let's get inside. I need to deliver these presents and we still need to give Ginny and Harry the full scoop on Naraku." Kagome's voice turned serious as she turned to the issue of Naraku, and Sango's face changed as well.

"Indeed. Let's go then. It's a long tale." Sango said, grabbing some of the bags to lighten the load for Kagome, who smiled and thanked her.

Kagome and Sango strode into the hut. The scene that greeted them was quite peaceful, which was relieving, with all the problems of these days. Ginny was talking with Shippo, and both of them were smiling as Ginny related some tale from her world, while Harry leaned against the wall behind them, watching the two of them with his emerald eyes showing fondness and contentment. Miroku leaned against the wall next to him, in meditation, Hedwig lay perched near Harry, on a tiny alcove that had been placed for her, while Inuyasha was nowhere in sight. They took in this sight, before Shippo called out happily, "Kagome!"

The tiny fox demon grabbed his unconsciously adopted mother, smiling. Kagome smiled fondly down on the tiny fox demon, and greeted him. "Hello, Shippo. Did you have fun while I was away?"

"Ginny was telling me about her brothers!" Shippo said, pointing towards the redhead, who sat near the fire where Shippo had come from. Harry smiled at Kagome, and said, "Hello Kagome."

Miroku, opened his eyes and smiled at Kagome. "Welcome back, Kagome."

"Hi Harry, hi Miroku. Where's Inuyasha?" Kagome asked curiously, hoping the hotheaded half demon wasn't too angry with her for leaving.

"I haven't seen him all day." Harry shrugged.

"Miroku?" Sango asked, turning towards the monk, who was still leaning against the wall, relaxed.

"I think he's in the forest." Miroku offered, but shrugged as well.

Kagome sighed. "I guess he's still upset." She stepped outside, and called out for Inuyasha, but he didn't respond. Kagome rolled her eyes. _He can be so immature sometimes._

"Well, I guess we can tell the story without him." Kagome said as she went back inside. "So, I'll start at the beginning." Kagome braced herself for the retelling of the horrors of Naraku.

For over an hour, Harry and Ginny listened in rapt attention with a mixture of disgust and horror and the crimes of this demon. Kagome told them how the thief Onigumo, who was badly burned, wished to take the Shikon Jewel and Kikyo, the Priestess who guarded the jewel, and how he called forth the demons of the area to feast upon his body and soul to create an new one, and how it became Naraku. How Naraku tricked Kikyo and Inuyasha fifty years ago, into attacking each other. He killed Kikyo while taking Inuyasha's form, so Kikyo would think Inuyasha betrayed her. Kikyo sealed Inuyasha to the God Tree, then, with her last breath, requested to be cremated along with the jewel, rather than taint the Sacred Jewel by using it to keep herself alive.

Miroku told the story of his Wind Tunnel, how soon after, his grandfather fought many times with Naraku before Naraku tricked his grandfather by assuming the form of a woman. Sango interjected that Miroku's family were lechers at that point. After the laughs had subsided, Miroku continued by telling them that Naraku cut a hole in his grandfather's right hand that formed the Wind Tunnel. It was a curse that would grow every year, until it swallowed its host, and would be passed down from generation to generation until Naraku was destroyed.

Kagome picked up the tale again, telling them how she came to the Feudal Era and met Inuyasha and the others. How she broke the Sacred Jewel, and how they discovered Naraku's treachery after Kikyo was revived in a clay body. She told them, much to their shock, that _she_ was Kikyo's reincarnation, and how she almost lost her soul to Kikyo. She told them of the first of Naraku's new treacheries, how he maneuvered Sesshomaru, Inuyasha's full demon half brother, who desired the Tetsusaiga that their father passed down to him. Kagome told them how Naraku, even at that point, had at least a score of jewel shards, and how they first encountered Naraku (Leaving out the part beforehand where Inuyasha threw her down the well to protect her, as well as the drama that happened afterwards). She told them how to identify Naraku, with a spider mark on his back and the back of his incarnations.

Sango picked up the story, her normally strong voice trembling as she retold how Naraku possessed Kohaku, her little brother, into killing her father and the other demon slayers. How Kohaku was killed, then resurrected by the power of the Sacred Jewel, which was corrupted and left Kohaku in the thrall of Naraku. At this point, her voice broke and Kagome placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, and Miroku looked at her concernedly. Harry commented that this sounded like the Imperius Curse, and explained to the bewildered Japanese that it allowed wizards to control others to do their bidding.

Kagome began the next half of the tale, the crimes of Naraku only building. She told them how Naraku cunningly maneuvered Inuyasha and Koga, the wolf demon who had two shards of the Sacred Jewel in his legs, into a duel to the death. Miroku commented that Koga was in love with Kagome when she left that part out, and Kagome glared at him as Ginny giggled and Harry smirked.

She told them of Kagura, the Wind Sorceress who was one of Naraku's incarnations, and who had tried to betray Naraku once. She told them of Kanna, the strange girl who was not quite a demon, but possessed a mirror that could reflect attacks back at others, and steal souls.

She told them of the other Naraku incarnations, and how dangerous they were. She finished the tale by telling them of the latest incarnation, Muso, who was actually Onigumo ejected from Naraku's body. She told them how Naraku, Onigumo, and Inuyasha fought in a battle, and how that was about a week ago. She told them how Naraku's body could only hold itself together with Onigumo's heart, and how Naraku could choose his night of weakness and how he used those nights to strengthen himself.

As the tale came to a close, Harry and Ginny knew what they were up against if they were to encounter Naraku. They both hoped they would make it through. On the roof, a certain silver-haired half-demon lay just above them, reaffirming a vow to destroy Naraku at all costs.

* * *

As they drifted into silence after hearing this tale, Harry felt himself slowly drifting into his own mind, reflecting on how many other people were suffering because of some other evil force, and how nice it was to meet others who were like him, who had no real family anymore and one true foe.

Ginny broke the silence as she noticed something. "Kagome, what's in those bags?" She asked quietly.

"Oh! Right!" Kagome said, startled. "I forgot! I have something for you and Harry!" She said cheerfully, and presented both of them with medium sized backpacks, complete with food and sleeping bags.

Ginny's mouth dropped open at the gift, and Harry sputtered, "Kagome… this is too much! You didn't have to do all this!" He tried to hand it back to the black haired girl.

"It's fine, really!" Kagome insisted, pushing it back towards him. "I never spend my pocket money anyway! Just take it. You'll need it more than I will."

"Thank you, Kagome." Harry said quietly, and Ginny nodded. "This means a lot."

* * *

The next day, the group set out to find Naraku and Voldemort, their combined force they hoped would be enough to trounce their mighty foes.

As the day passed its peak, they stopped for lunch in a familiar clearing in the forest. Kagome cooked some ramen, something that neither Harry nor Ginny had ever had before. Harry had heard of it of course, but Aunt Petunia looked down on such 'unwholsome' foods.

As they enjoyed the hot, delicious soup, they relaxed, no conversation, just enjoying the beautiful day. Of course, a serene moment such as this could never last.

Suddenly, Miroku's grip on his staff tightened, Sango sat up from the rock she was laying against, and Inuyasha stood. "What is it?" Kagome asked.

"Something's coming." Inuyasha said quietly, moving towards the sword sheathed at his side. Harry stood as well, reaching for his staff and Ginny for her new bow and arrows.

The trees suddenly broke down as Naraku, in his familiar baboon skin disguise appeared! "NARAKU!" Inuyasha cried out angrily, and launched himself at it as he withdrew Tetsusaiga. Naraku did not move away in time to avoid Tetsusaiga, and his baboon skin ripped from the slash.

Naraku disguise ripped apart and revealed, instead of Naraku's visage, there were tentacles coming out of the torn baboon skin!

"A demon puppet!" Miroku snarled, smacking the puppet with his staff, which staggered under the strike, but quickly recovered and snapped his tentacles rapidly in whipping strokes, making Miroku dance away from his assault as well as Inuyasha.

"Naraku! You coward!" Inuyasha cried out as he dodged the lashing tentacles. "Come out and fight me!"

Harry decided to join in by firing an Impediment Jinx at the demon puppet, the power of his staff amplifying the spell, knocking the demon puppet into the ground. As Ginny shot him an amazed look, he withdrew Godric's sword and slashed at it. The puppet launched itself from the ground with its tentacles, and then struck out at Harry, who had to roll uncomfortably, but gave Sango a clear shot.

Sango hurled her Hiraikotsu, which tore through the air at an incredible speed, but the puppet smashed it aside easily.

"It's strong!" Sango cried out, dodging her own weapon.

"I'll get it!" Kagome stated, and fired one of her Sacred Arrows.

However, at this point, the demon puppet maneuvered a rock with its tentacles in front of the arrow, causing the arrow to expend its purifying powers on the stone instead of the puppet.

"Naraku's power is growing for one of his puppets to have grown so strong!" Miroku said, "I'll use the Wind Tunnel!"

"Wait!" Sango said as a new sound began growing. A very familiar sound.

"Naraku's poison insects! Damnit!" Miroku swore.

Ginny, deciding to help out after recovering from the amazement of watching a battle such as this, fired her own arrow.

The puppet smashed it aside, and move to bat Ginny aside, while striking for the others as well. Harry had his back towards Ginny, however, he Apparated aside from the tentacle headed towards him and put Ginny out of harms way as he reappeared.

"How did you-" Ginny began to ask, before another snapping tentacle broke any chance for conversation.

Harry snarled at the puppet, and leapt at it, striking several times with Godric's sword, while Inuyasha struck with Tetsusaiga at the same moment. The demon puppet was unable to keep up with the assault from the two men, and gave ground.

The puppet lost a tentacle to both Inuyasha and Harry's slashes, and retreated hastily, before snapping several more tentacles at the two men, who had to dodge aside.

Sango hurled her Hiraikotsu again, hoping to catch the puppet off guard, but it was not to be as the demon smashed it down into the ground, but it gave Kagome the opportunity she'd been waiting for as she fired another arrow.

This time, the demon barely managed to escape intact, but lost several tentacles to the path of Kagome's Sacred Arrow. The puppet struck out at Kagome, who barely dodged a few strikes and landed on her ankle, which twisted as she tried to move. As she groaned in pain, across from the demon, the demon prepared to strike. But he made one fatal error. He turned his back to Inuyasha. "WIND SCAR!"

The force of the Wind Scar, the tear in the wind where the demon energy meets, and the path to Tetsusaiga's ultimate power, struck the puppet from it's side, and completely annihilated it in a flash of yellow energy.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha cried out concernedly, leaping towards the young woman.

"Kagome!" The other's cried out, and ran towards her side. Ginny reached her after Inuyasha, and brushed him aside.

The indignant half-demon yelled, "What the hell are you doing!"

"Leave her alone." Harry said gruffly, as Ginny ignored the angry ranting of Inuyasha.

"It's definitely twisted. I've had one of those in the past few months. Here. Let me fix it." Ginny said kindly, pointing her wand at Kagome's twisted ankle. "Integro Talus!"

There was a soft blue glow around Kagome's ankle, then it faded. The others looked on it bated breath, then Kagome opened her eyes. "The pain… it's gone…" She said in wonder. "Thank you!" She said, throwing her arms around the redhead.

"It was nothing," Ginny said, thankful Kagome's hugs weren't anywhere near as strong as her mother's. "Madam Pomfrey taught me that spell after I hurt my ankle."

Harry's eyes darkened at the mention of Ginny's hurt ankle, and he turned away, walking a short distance. "What's with him?" Inuyasha asked.

"Oh no." Ginny said sadly. "The battle I hurt my ankle in got his godfather killed. I guess he's still not over it."

Kagome looked shocked. "His godfather died?"

"Yeah. He's been pretty out of it ever since." Ginny said, watching Harry.

"He'll get over it." Inuyasha said gruffly, and Ginny smiled sadly.

"I hope so."

* * *

Back in Harry's world, Ronald Weasley was just awakening from a long night filled with emotional roller coasters. _What the bloody hell happened…_ Ron groaned, feeling drowsier than normal.

"Ron? Oh good, you're awake!" Hermione cried out happily, throwing her arms around him.

Ron, though lacking most of the higher mental functions due to his unusual amount of drowsiness, realized that not only was there a female body pressing against him, but it was _Hermione's_ body being pressed against him. He went scarlet, and Hermione followed, realizing what she was doing.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" Ron finally asked, once he got over his embarrassment to notice that Hermione had been crying.

"Ron… don't you remember what happened?" Hermione asked sadly.

Ron thought for a moment, before the tumultuous events of the past two days returned. Harry and Ginny running after Voldemort through that bloody portal. Being knocked out by Snape after going on a rant at everyone for letting his best mate and his baby sister go through a portal to Merlin knows where. His mum's tearstained face. Dumbledore's saddened face.

That scared Ron more than anything else, even the uncertainty of Harry and Ginny's predicament, how scared and old Dumbledore looked. He was no longer the mighty Dumbledore, champion of the Light, defeater of Grindelwald, a rock of support, but an old man who was frightened for the closest thing he had to a grandson.

For even Ron knew that Dumbledore looked upon Harry in a grandfatherly way, and knew that the two of them had something special, that only they knew. Fighting the Dark's greatest warriors was what they shared, doing the impossible.

"Right…" Ron said, unable to express how helpless and scared he felt. "Did Dumbledore find anything?"

"No… I don't get it!" Hermione shrieked, "I don't understand what happened! There are no references to this in any of the books I've read!"

"You mean a reference to a bloody portal that leads to who the hell knows?" Ron asked sarcastically, too emotional to care if he hurt Hermione's feelings.

Hermione looked at him sharply. "Yes."

"Come on, Mione. Let's go have some breakfast." Ron said, swinging his legs over his bed.

"Um… Ron…" Hermione said, turning beet red.

"What? Oh…" Ron said, noticing that all he had on was a pair of Chudley Cannons boxers. "Um… Mione… could you turn around?"

Hermione looked startled, and blushed even harder, noticing that she had been staring. "Sorry! I'll be outside!" She said quickly, before bolting from the room.

Ron sighed, and muttered, "Girls."

Ten minutes later, Ron came downstairs to see the normally bustling and noisy kitchen of the Burrow unusually subdued. "Mornin." He yawned.

"Morning Ronniekins." George (or was it Fred?) remarked, only slight teasing in his tone. Harry and Ginny's predicament had even rained on their parade, to a degree.

Hermione didn't respond, instead blushing fiercely at the memory of the incident just a few minutes ago. Mrs. Weasley didn't respond either, but for a completely different reason.

"Mum?" Ron asked concernedly. "Are you alright?"

"What?" Mrs. Weasley said, distractedly, absentmindedly-flipping pancakes. It was then that Ron noticed that dozens of meals had been made by his mother, and not all of them breakfast foods.

"Mum?" Ron asked again.

"Forget it Ron. She's out of it. I asked her if she wanted a Ton-Tongue Toffee, and she said yes!" One of the twins remarked amazedly. "I didn't have the heart to give it to her."

"Why is she cooking so much?" Ron asked.

This time, Hermione answered. "She's relieving anxiety, I suppose. Cooking is her outlet."

"Then she must cook a lot when you and Mister Potter go on your yearly adventure," A jovial voice responded.

Everyone, even Mrs. Weasley jumped, startled by the sudden appearance of Albus Dumbledore. "Albus…" Mrs. Weasley started, but Dumbledore anticipated her, even without Legilimency.

"I am sorry, Molly. I haven't found anything, nor has the Order, but I can assure you that all our resources are going into getting Mister Potter and Miss Weasley back to us safely." Dumbledore assured her, but the twinkle in his eye was absent, making even Ron nervous.

"Have you checked You-Know-Who's libraries? He's bound to have something, seeing as how he created that portal." Hermione remarked.

"Indeed, Miss Granger. An excellent idea, except we do not know where to begin. Even Severus has no idea where Voldemort's private library could be." Dumbledore answered gravely. "And until we find out a solution, Mister Potter and Miss Weasley are in great danger."

"Harry will look out for Ginny." Ron said confidently.

"True. But our baby sister, alone in who knows where with a boy?" Fred asked rhetorically.

"Fred!" Mrs. Weasley said sharply, "Harry is an honorable boy, he would not take advantage of Ginny!"

"I wasn't worried about Harry, Mum." Fred smirked, "I was worried that it might be Ginny taking advantage!"

Everyone, even Dumbledore laughed, but Mrs. Weasley soon berated George for talking about his sister like that.

Even in this happy moment, everyone's thoughts were still on one grim thought.

As Ron settle down to breakfast, he prayed silently, _Be safe, Harry, and take care of Ginny. _

* * *

That night, Harry lay against a tree, staring up into the sky, his sleeping bag sat unused. _Sirius…_ Harry thought mournfully. _I almost forgot… How could I forget!_ Harry scolded himself. He never wanted to forget Sirius, but these days, he found himself unable to think of anything else than getting through to the next day.

He looked around him, surveying the area. In the dim light of the fire, Kagome and Sango lay in sleeping bags of their own, resting peacefully. Shippou lay curled in Kagome's arms, like a baby and a mother. Miroku laid against a tree opposite of the two girls, looking merely in meditation. The monk had a strange way of being both extremely perceptive and extremely strange at times. Inuyasha was up in the tree above Kagome, and Harry couldn't tell whether the half-demon was asleep or merely closing his eyes, like Miroku.

"Harry?"

Harry's emerald eyes turned towards Ginny's concerned brown eyes, which seemed to be searching him for something. "Yes, Gin?" Harry asked softly.

"Why aren't you asleep?" Ginny asked concernedly.

"Just… thinking." Harry said.

Ginny looked at him, trying to find something to say. Finally, something that had bugged for a few moments flew out of her mouth before she could stop herself. "Harry, how did you know to save me?"

"What?" Harry asked, surprised.

"Back at the battle, you had your back to me, and I didn't make a noise. How did you know?" Ginny asked.

"Um…" Harry said, unable to express what exactly _had_ happened. "I don't know Gin. It was like a reflex, or some sort of inspiration that you were in trouble. But really, I don't know."

They lapsed into silence for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts, until Ginny broke the silence again.

"I'm… sorry. I shouldn't have been so careless. Sirius' death still hurts you." Ginny said, her eyes moving down now.

"No, Gin. It wasn't that… I'm dealing with Sirius being gone. I'm just… shocked." He whispered. Ginny shot him a puzzled look, and he continued. "I hadn't thought of Sirius in almost two days…"

"Harry. Sirius would want you to think about him, but not all the time. You've been busy. We've been busy." Ginny said soothingly, touching Harry's arm.

"Your right, of course." Harry said, smiling slightly, before it faded. "Gin… I want to thank you for following me."

Ginny looked surprised at Harry, and he smiled again. "I don't know if I could do this without some support, someone I knew."

"Harry… I know you'd rather have Ron or Hermione, but I'll stand by you no matter what." Ginny said firmly, but there seemed to be a trace of sadness in her voice as she looked down again.

"Ginny…" Harry said quietly, and grabbed her hands, pulling her to meet his gaze again. "I'm glad you're here. Really. I can't think of anyone else I'd rather have by me than you. You've helped me over this summer, to recover. Not just from Sirius, from everything. From Cedric, to all this other stuff I've kept inside. If I was cut off from your support…" Harry said, trailing off.

Ginny felt her cheeks heat up, and she stuttered, "Thanks."

"No problem. I think we'd better get to sleep now." Harry said, not noticing her discomfort, and hugged her briefly. "Night Gin." He said before climbing into his sleeping bag.

When Ginny returned to her sleeping bag, she had a soft smile on her face.

* * *

It had been three days since Naraku attacked them with the demon puppet, and so far, nothing had happened. Well, nothing except the occasional shouting matches between Kagome and Inuyasha.

But besides these minor fights that always ended quickly (Kagome's use of the "Sit" command giving her the advantage), the days had been quite boring.

However, today, several things happened.

The first being a very… interesting encounter from a certain wolf demon.

A sudden dervish of wind picked up and moved towards the travelers, who were immediately put on guard, until Koga, the wolf demon appeared in front of Kagome.

"Kagome!" Koga said happily, grabbing her hands, "I knew I smelled you in the area!"

Inuyasha broke Koga's hold on Kagome's hands, stepping in front of him. "Get your filthy wolf hands off of her!" Inuyasha growled angrily.

Harry and Ginny, taking the example of Miroku and Sango, stepped back and decided to watch, albeit from a distance.

"Kagome, has this mutt been treating you okay?" Koga asked, ignoring Inuyasha.

Before Kagome could even respond, Inuyasha cut in. "Leave her alone!"

"I'd just like to warn ya, mutt, that Naraku's scent is nearby, and I'm the one that's going to kill him." Koga boasted, looking at Kagome.

"What?" Inuyasha asked, putting his hand on Tetsusaiga.

"Figures a mutt like you has no match on my abilities," Koga scoffed, before continuing, "Can't you smell Naraku?"

Inuyasha sniffed the air for a few moments, until a breeze came by, and Inuyasha's eyes widened. "He's right… Naraku's barriers must be down! It must be his time of weakness!" Inuyasha said. "Come on, we need to find Naraku!"

"Don't bother, doggy. I'll have finished off Naraku and that bitch, Kagura as well, long before you could even get there." Koga boasted, looking at Kagome again.

Inuyasha growled, and put his hand on Tetsusaiga. "I'll kill you, you stupid wolf!"

Koga, much to Inuyasha's consternation, ignored him and looked at Harry and Ginny. "Who are you?" Koga asked pompously, before looking back towards Inuyasha. "You need more help, mutt?"

"I don't need anyone's help!" Inuyasha growled, and Harry and Ginny decided that it was probably best to not interfere with this dogfight.

"Yeah well, whatever. I got no more time to waste with doggies. Take care of my Kagome!" Koga called out as he left in another dervish of wind.

"Why that arrogant bastard…" Inuyasha swore, kicking the ground with contempt.

"Well… that was interesting." Harry said, smirking.

"Indeed." Miroku said, more talking about Naraku's night of weakness than the old news of a fight between Koga and Inuyasha.

"I'm surprised that Kagome and Inuyasha aren't fighting." Shippo said, a little loudly, "Normally Inuyasha gets all huffy and Kagome let's Koga leave without a fight."

Ten seconds later, Shippo was nursing a nasty bump from Inuyasha's fist.

* * *

The group set out quickly, Inuyasha's nose allowing them to find Naraku's castle. However, Harry felt something was wrong with this whole set-up, and decided to ask Miroku, feeling that the monk might be the most open to his ideas.

"Miroku, something doesn't feel right here. It's as if Naraku wants you guys to attack him." Harry said to the monk.

"Indeed, there is something odd about the timing of this. It does seem as though it could be a trap, but nonetheless, we must push onward." Miroku said firmly.

"Plus, I don't think Inuyasha's going to be swayed by anything once he has the scent of Naraku." Miroku added quietly.

"I can understand that." Harry mused, remembering how hard he worked to thwart Voldemort, and how he wished to hunt the self-proclaimed Dark Lord down.

"I think you and Inuyasha are more alike than you realize." Miroku stated.

"I think so too," Ginny added, walking next to Harry.

"Perhaps." Harry offered, not wanting to divulge the small talk Harry and Inuyasha had that first night. It felt private, as if it was something that should only be shared between the two of them.

Any more chance for talk was cut apart by Inuyasha stopping cold.

"What is it, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked.

Inuyasha said only one word. "Sesshomaru."

Harry and Ginny looked perplexed, but Miroku and Sango looked around warily, while Inuyasha tightened a grip over Tesusaiga. "Who's Sesshomaru?" Ginny asked Sango.

"That's Inuyasha's half brother, remember?" Sango said, not looking at Ginny.

"The one that always tries to kill Inuyasha?" Ginny asked, trying to remember what the others had said about Sesshomaru.

"Lot's of people try to kill Inuyasha, but yeah, that's his brother." Kagome remarked from in front of them.

Inuyasha wasn't listening, sniffing the air in an attempt to find his brother.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome said sharply, "Don't tell me your going after Sesshomaru!"

"Nah…" Inuyasha scoffed, and Kagome sighed in relief when he added, "He's moving in the same direction as us, so he'll be along shortly. Then I'll kill him."

Kagome sighed in exasperation, while Ginny was amazed and the animosity between the two brothers. "We should press on, Inuyasha. Sesshomaru wants Naraku dead as well, if you recall." Miroku reminded Inuyasha.

"Right! So let's get there first!" Inuyasha said, and began running, leaving the others to struggle to keep up with Inuyasha's demon speed.

* * *

That night, a fierce argument ensued between Kagome and Inuyasha, Kagome begging to let them rest, while Inuyasha wanted to push on.

"Inuyasha," Miroku added into the argument, a show of true bravery or foolhardiness, "Isn't it strange that five days after our visitors arrive and we are traveling, Naraku decides then to become weak. I think it may be a trap."

"I think so too, Miroku." Sango said, "Naraku is far too clever and dangerous to be underestimated."

"Whatever! So what if it is a trap, we'll get through it!" Inuyasha scoffed, which sparked anger in Harry.

"Don't ever ignore a trap, and don't ever rush in blindly," Harry cut in, offering words of wisdom. "It is probably best if we watch and wait."

Miroku, Sango, and Kagome nodded, but Inuyasha merely scoffed and turned his head away. "However, Naraku has never done such a reckless and daring trap before. Something must have changed." Miroku mused darkly.

"You're right, Miroku." Harry said, "From what you've told me, Naraku prefers to manipulate, rather than trap. This, however, smells of Voldemort."

"You think Voldemort and Naraku are working together?" Kagome asked, horrified.

"Might be. I can't see any other reason why Naraku would drop his guard and act like this." Miroku said, and Harry nodded.

Inuyasha looked put out, however, at the thought of not having a shot at Naraku.

A sudden sight however, caused Inuyasha to freeze. "Soul collectors…" Inuyasha breathed softly, and the others immediately turned to look towards the sight. A strange fish dragon cross creature flew, it's long tail, the same pale white color as the rest of it's body, whipped behind it.

Kagome looked saddened, and turned away. Miroku, Sango, and Ginny noticed this, but only Ginny found it strange. Inuyasha and Harry didn't notice, Inuyasha being to lost in thoughts about Kikyo and Harry studying the soul collectors warily.

"Kikyo…" Inuyasha whispered, before bolting after the soul collectors.

Kagome stood up suddenly, and said quietly, "I'm going for a walk."

"Um… Kagome…" Ginny started, but Miroku laid a hand on her arm.

"It is best if we let her alone right now." Miroku said quietly, not opening his eyes.

Sango, however, looked angry that Inuyasha had just bolted without a word, not even looking at Kagome. "He always gets like this when Kikyo comes around." Sango muttered, "And he never cares about Kagome."

Harry hadn't said anything, and merely looked as the raven-haired girl walked away slowly.

If they could have seen her face, it was tear-stained.

* * *

Inuyasha tore through the woods rapidly, following the soul collectors eagerly. _Kikyo… what are you doing out here?_ Inuyasha asked silently.

He followed the soul collectors, who seemed to be traveling a great distance, but in the direction of Naraku's castle.

_Kikyo… have you been captured by Naraku?_ Inuyasha asked, hoping it wasn't true.

In one tiny corner of his mind, Inuyasha wondered if Kagome was upset, but the rest of his mind was too focused on Kikyo. _I owe Kikyo my life… And if Naraku has her…, I'll kill him. _

Inuyasha followed the soul collectors out of the woods, into a meadow, and over a gorge. They seemed to be leading him nowhere, but Inuyasha pressed on.

Finally, Inuyasha reached another forest, his feet beginning to ache with the long distance he had run in a short hour, not to mention the traveling he had been doing for the past few days.

He started walking as the soul collectors made their way towards a clearing, where Kikyo stood, her pale, stern features highlighted in the moonlight.

"Kikyo…" Inuyasha breathed softly.

"Inuyasha. I see you have followed my soul collectors to me, once again." Kikyo said, laughing. "Are you that eager to die?"

"Kikyo… Why do you insist that we must die?" Inuyasha asked, in the same soft tones.

"You owe me your life, Inuyasha." Kikyo breathed, a tiny hint of anger in her chocolate brown eyes that were so very different from Kagome's, even if they shared the same color. "And I will kill you myself, before dying. You owe me."

"Kikyo… I cannot rest until I kill Naraku and avenge you!" Inuyasha cried out, pleading with Kikyo. The undead priestess however, looked as cold as ever, the only thing that truly betrayed the reality that her body was nothing but clay.

"Why?" Kikyo asked. "Why avenge me? I'm already dead. Will killing Naraku bring me back to life in my true body?"

"It will bring peace to your soul!" Inuyasha responded loudly, his golden eyes pleading with his first love.

"No, Inuyasha." Kikyo said condescendingly, "The only thing that will bring me peace is if you die along with me."

"Kikyo… you would ask me to give up my oath to destroy Naraku?" Inuyasha asked, confounded.

"Inuyasha, your life belongs to me!" Kikyo said loudly, "And no one else."

Inuyasha was about to agree, when an image appeared in his mind. Like that fateful day when Kikyo took Kagome's Shikon Jewel shards and had tried to kill Kagome, another image appeared. Kagome's image, laughing, smiling, and looking at him happily.

Kikyo and Kagome. Though they looked so much alike, they were as different as night from day. Kikyo was cold and reserved, even when she was alive, almost to the point of not caring at times. Kagome on the other hand, was alive, invigorating, filled with life, always kind, no matter who it was.

Inuyasha came to a sudden realization, everything he knew truly building up to this moment. He was in love with Kagome. But he was also in love with Kikyo. Wasn't he?

Regardless, he still owed Kikyo his life. But he also owed Kagome his life, after vowing to protect her and because she freed him, not just from the God Tree, but from the darkness that had plagued his life for so long.

In the end, he was faced with a dilemma. He struggled to review everything about the two women he loved, and tried to find why he loved them.

Kagome was kind and gentle, but a warrior in times of crisis.

Kikyo had been someone like him, who didn't fit in, who was separated from everyone else.

Kikyo wanted him to become human, so they could live together.

Kagome wanted him no matter who he was, and even stuck by him when he could have killed her.

Kikyo wanted his death.

Kagome wanted him to live.

He found himself struggling with a terrible decision, and all the while, Kikyo grew impatient.

"What is wrong, Inuyasha?" Kikyo asked. "Don't tell me that you believe that you owe someone else your life? Is it my reincarnation? Do you love her, like me?"

Inuyasha looked at Kikyo, and immediately knew something was wrong. "What about Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, fear beginning to trickle into his mind.

"That girl will no longer stand in our way, Inuyasha. We will go to hell together, and she will not stop us." Kikyo declared, an edge to her voice.

"What did you do?" Inuyasha asked fearfully, reaching for Tetsusaiga.

"Are you going to kill me, Inuyasha?" Kikyo laughed. "I'm afraid you have it backwards. I'm going to kill you."

"WHAT DID YOU DO!" Inuyasha demanded angrily.

"It's not what I did. It's what _Naraku _will do with her." Kikyo smirked.

"Kikyo!" Inuyasha growled, "How could you side with Naraku?"

"He promised to take care of my reincarnation and give me the pleasure of killing you." Kikyo smiled.

"You-you-" Inuyasha stuttered, grasping Tetsusaiga. Before he could do anything, Kikyo's soul collectors picked her up and carried her off into the distance.

"I'll be waiting for you, Inuyasha. At Naraku's castle." Kikyo laughed.

Inuyasha stared at her for a moment, the betrayal finally settling in with the realization that Kagome was in trouble. He bolted from the scene, pushing every single demon muscle he had into overdrive. He tore his way back to camp, cutting his time in half, all the while praying silently, _Please be okay, Kagome. _

When he burst onto the scene at the camp, he knew he was too late. Sango looked agitated, and when he came in, she gave him a look of utmost loathing. "Had fun with Kikyo?" She asked contemptuously. "Well, sorry to bother you, but Kagome's missing. Not like you care."

"No…" Inuyasha whispered.

"It's true. We were about to leave to get you, then find Naraku. Sango found this." Miroku said sadly, and gave Inuyasha something. The red ribbon that Kagome wore on her school shirt.

AN: I caught a case of massive plot attacks that won't wait, along with the inability to write exactly how I wanted this chapter to turn out for a while. I don't really know how to write Koga. Finally, I hate Kikyo. I hate her. Writing anything that has to do with Kikyo/Inuyasha makes me sick. Which is why, of course, she had to ally with Naraku. All that, coupled with school, constitutes one of the most difficult things I've had to battle in a while. I was amazed, however, at how much of the backstory of Inuyasha I remember. I only just started watching it again, after what must have been like six months without it. How did I last that long? Anyways, I know how the next few episodes of Inuyasha go, having seen quite a few of them already, but this seems like a good place to start. Thanks for reading and please review!


	4. Demons and Hearts

Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter or any of the universes you see here.

AN: Well, cool battle scene and drama ahead! Ginny's role here is smaller, and Harry's is shrunk a bit as well, but not that much. Too many characters to keep track of! That's one of my problem areas, and I'm using this chapter to work on it. That's all I can really say for now! As you might notice, I've decided to keep reviewer responses at the end. Less hassle this way. Sorry about the wait on this one, Reap What You Sow is winding down, and it took up a higher priority. The chapters on RWYS and Dark Rage are shorter, and thus take less time to produce.

Chapter 4 Demons and Hearts

"Kagome…" Inuyasha whispered, horrified. The red ribbon had blood on it. Kagome's blood. And it carried Naraku's scent.

"I see you care now." Sango said sarcastically, with a sneer that Harry thought Snape would be hard pressed to match, before turning on her heel and stalking off.

"She's angry, but with good reason. Kagome was kidnapped because you left." Ginny offered, looking sympathetic with Sango but also wanting to refrain from agitating the clearly hurting half-demon as well.

Harry meanwhile, was busy packing his stuff up to notice the drama around him fully. "Let's go. Kagome's life is in danger." Harry said impatiently, strapping the backpack to his back.

"Harry, we should be careful. We know that this is a trap." Miroku cautioned.

"I know it's a trap, but Kagome has always been kind to me and Ginny. I won't let another person suffer." Harry said forcefully, shaking Inuyasha from his melancholy.

"Inuyasha, we should get going. We'll need you nose to find Naraku." Miroku commented quietly.

Sango, though still with her back turned and silently fuming, nodded to Kilala, who burst into flame, and a second later, appeared in a fully adult form that looked more like a Saber tooth tiger than the kitten she once was.

"Right…" Inuyasha said softly, almost sounding defeated. He moved quicker now, smelling the air, all the while thinking one thing. _Hold on Kagome. I'm coming. _

Harry followed, silent, watching Inuyasha run off, painfully reminding him of himself, that fateful day at the Department of Mysteries.

A sudden, familiar screech brought Harry's attention away from his pain, and Hedwig landed on his shoulder. "Hey girl." Harry said affectionately. He missed Hedwig, his owl having flown off to hunt and explore for the majority of the journey. Apparently, Hedwig felt that her human required her support.

"Harry?" Ginny asked, "Are you okay?" She noticed how pained his expression was as he watched Inuyasha go.

"I'm fine Gin." Harry said, before looking at her, his eyes serious. "Ginny… It's going to be pretty dangerous when we get there. Maybe you should stay back…"

Ginny's eyes flashed dangerously, and in a low, angry voice, she said, "Harry James Potter, I'm not going to stand back while everyone else risks their lives! I have a grudge against Tom too, and I'm not letting you fight without me."

"Ginny…" Harry started to say, but she cut him off again.

"Harry, I'm going to be with you every step of the way on this journey. I will be at your side, no matter what, as your ally." Ginny said forcefully. She met his unreadable emerald green eyes with her blazing brown ones, as if daring him to challenge her.

"Ginny, there's no one I'd rather have at my back right now than you." Harry said, "But, I'd rather you not be my ally."

Before Ginny could angrily respond, letting the Weasley temper loose on Harry, he added, "I'd rather we be partners." He extended his hand out to her, smirking.

Ginny felt as though her heart had stopped. Harry Potter wanted to be her partner. She didn't know exactly what the bloody hell that meant, but she didn't care!

"Partners?" Harry asked the shocked looking Ginny.

"Partners." Ginny confirmed, smiling as she felt happiness flooding through her veins. They stared at each other for what seemed like the longest time.

"Hey, hurry up!" Shippo called out from Kilala's back, the giant cat now having fiery paws as it began preparing to run.

"Get on!" Sango urged.

Harry and Ginny were shaken from the moment, and quickly got on the catlike creature's back, with Hedwig following close behind, neither noticing the faint blush on the other's cheeks…

* * *

Kagome awoke slowly, painfully, the last few hours nothing but a blur of pain, misery, sorrow, and of course that raging bump on her head. The painful memories came back. Inuyasha running after Kikyo's soul collectors. Some strange noise behind her. A vicious blow to the head, and then nothing.

"What happened?" She asked to no one in particular, not opening her eyes.

"She's awake." A chillingly familiar voice answered.

_Naraku!_ Kagome thought. "What do you want with me, Naraku?" She asked harshly, her vision still blurry. It was then she realized that she was tied to something by strong, knotted rope.

"My dear girl, myself and my associate merely wish to ease your pain." Naraku answered silkily.

"Associate?" Kagome asked, and her vision finally corrected itself, and she saw in front of her Naraku, standing and smirking in all his demonic glory. He wore his standard purple edged black kimono, accompanied by blue edged eyes that were dark as a dying fire, but with the strength of a fully-fledged inferno. His hair was long, longer than Kagome's, with the same black as night color. Next to him stood a hooded man, no demon aura around him, but something… unnatural just the same. He had narrow red slits for eyes and what little of his face that could be seen was more snake than human.

"Are you Voldemort?" Kagome asked cautiously.

The creature threw its head back and laughed, a high, cold laugh that scared Kagome, who had seen terrible demons and only felt anger at their crimes. "I see you have heard of Lord Voldemort. I am he." Voldemort smirked.

"What do you mean, ease my pain?" Kagome demanded, realizing the full extent of Naraku's words.

"My dear girl, I mean just that. Inuyasha has hurt you deeply. I will allow you to finally be free of the love that hurts you so, and you will finally be free. Free to love anew." Naraku said sincerely, smiling, a strange, almost kind smile that looked wrong on his face.

"Ho-how?" Kagome asked, before she could stop herself. She wanted her pain to end, at the very least so that Inuyasha could be with Kikyo without the guilt of hurting her.

"I will purge your heart of your love for Inuyasha." Voldemort answered. "I will give you a new start."

"But why did I have to be tied up?" Kagome asked, the beginnings of losing herself to the bargain.

"You may have panicked before we could give you our proposal." Voldemort answered, his voice laced with concern and sincerity. What Kagome didn't realize was that he was well practiced in this sort of deal, the kind that tricked many an innocent soul into fighting by his side.

"Will you allow us to help you?" Naraku asked, his voice matching Voldemort's.

Kagome fought a struggle within herself, torn between a desire to be free, and suspicion of the two men in front of her. In the end, she chose.

"Yes."

* * *

As the Inuyasha gang (minus Kagome), Harry, and Ginny headed over to Naraku's castle, Harry had a thought. "Hey Gin," Harry began, and Ginny (who had been avoiding looking at Harry) turned to look at him.

"Yeah Harry?" Ginny answered, trying to overcome the resurgence of a blush.

Harry didn't seem to notice as he said, "If Voldemort tries to use that portal thing again, I don't think we'll be able to bring the stuff Kagome gave us."

"Harry, what about this?" Ginny said, and quickly casted a Shrinking Charm on both backpacks. She placed her backpack in her pocket, smiling impishly at him.

"Right… forgot about that…" Harry said sheepishly as he put his own shrunken backpack in his trouser pocket.

* * *

As the group ran through and over the woods, the red blur of Inuyasha just barely in front of them, a sudden voice that sounded like a snake hissing was heard. "Welcome."

The group stopped dead, even Inuyasha, as they scanned the area around them.

"Voldemort!" Harry spat, as Ginny exclaimed, "Tom!"

"Ah, Potter. And the Weasley girl. So glad you could come." Lord Voldemort smirked.

"Show yourself!" Miroku demanded.

"Just keep going forward." Voldemort's voice answered in a singsong voice. He was obviously enjoying his little trap.

The group ran, and finally reached the end of the woods, where their goal lay before them. Naraku's castle. On the castle wall, looking more demon than human, stood Lord Voldemort. "I'm told that only one of you may pass," Voldemort smiled, "The one called Inuyasha."

Sango, Shippo, Harry, and Ginny leapt off of Kilala's back, looking at Voldemort with looks ranging from cautious on Sango's face to outright hatred on Harry and Ginny's face.

"Where's Kagome you bastard!" Inuyasha yelled out.

"Inside, along with Naraku." Voldemort smirked.

"Tom, it's not in your nature to play second fiddle to someone else," Harry said, looking straight at his foe, "So why are you doing this?"

"Don't call me that!" Voldemort hissed angrily, "I am Lord Voldemort! And I only work for myself!"

"It's your name Tom!" Ginny spat angrily.

"You would know, wouldn't you, Ginerva." Voldemort said, turning towards Ginny.

"Shut up!" Ginny cried out, though they could see she was troubled.

"Enough talk! I'm going after Kagome!" Inuyasha roared, and launched himself at Voldemort, claws outstretched to rip him apart.

Voldemort, however, merely stepped aside, and another person appeared behind him. Kagura, the wind sorceress. She flung her fan at him, and the cutting winds that were created as a result forced him to leap aside, growling angrily.

"Inuyasha! Get inside and help Kagome!" Miroku cried out quickly.

"We'll stay here and deal with them!" Harry added, pointing his staff at Voldemort and casting a Stunner.

Inuyasha nodded, and leapt off the roof as Voldemort deflected the powerful Stunner, although just barely, as he stumbled back. He snarled, and fired a Killing Curse at Harry, who dodged aside. The two wizards began exchanging fire, their spells damaging the area around them.

Sango flung the Hiraikotsu at Kagura, seeing as how Harry wished to deal with Voldemort on his own. Kagura smirked and blasted it back with the winds, before addressing the demon slayer calmly. "I have someone who wishes to see you."

A sudden noise brought Sango to the alert. A very familiar, chilling noise. The sound of a chain. She dodged aside as a familiar sickle held on a chain flew by her, missing slicing her throat open by inches.

She turned to see a horrifying visage. Her younger brother Kohaku, brought back to life by the Shikon Jewel shard embedded in his back, was now being forced to fight her by Naraku. Sango knew she would never be able to kill her brother, and that all she could do was hope for a miracle.

"Sango!" Miroku cried out, before Kagura's wind blades forced him to dodge.

Miroku growled and moved to open the Wind Tunnel, but the buzzing of Naraku's insects forced him to stop. "Damn! Poison insects!" Miroku swore uncharacteristically.

Shippo, Hedwig, Kilala, and Ginny began aiding the others by attacking the insects that swarmed, trying to sting the warriors. More demons swarmed out from the sky, like an unholy rain of evil bodies. Naraku's advance guard was in full force.

The battle was on, and the trap was set.

* * *

Inuyasha finally caught sight of his goal after what seemed like an eternity. Naraku's castle gates.

He saw that there was no barrier. Naraku was playing for keeps today.

"NARAKU!" Inuyasha roared, and demolished the gate with one punch that barely dented his fury. In the background, he could hear the sounds of battle as Miroku, Sango, Harry, Ginny, Kilala, and even Shippo and that bird battled it out with Voldemort and Naraku's guard.

"Welcome Inuyasha." Naraku answered, the smirk evident within his voice. He sat atop the roof of his castle, wearing his usual garb, looking triumphant, like a spider that had caught the fly.

"Where's Kagome!" Inuyasha demanded.

"Oh yes. Show yourself, my dear girl." Naraku said, almost fondly.

A light shined at the top of the castle, and there, decked in a midnight black kimono, looking eerily similar to Kikyo, was Kagome. Her eyes were blank, no pupils, like Kohaku.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha cried, but she paid no heed it seemed. "What did you do to her Naraku!"

"I merely did as she wished," Naraku smirked, "To erase her painful memories of you, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha stopped, and he almost felt his heart stop along with him at the proclamation. He had been the one to drive Kagome away! It was his fault!

"Kagome. Kill this worthless half-demon." Naraku ordered as he turned to look at her, and Kagome nodded. She removed the bow on her back, and quickly fired an arrow at Inuyasha.

Inuyasha barely had time to get over his shock before leaping out of the way. This arrow was the opposite of Kagome's Sacred Arrow. It had a black aura, and corrupted the ground and the very air it touched, turning it black as Kagome's hair.

"Surprised, Inuyasha?" Naraku asked mockingly, "Don't be. Kagome's power is immense, far greater than even Kikyo's. Corrupting her was one of my greatest works."

Suddenly, a dervish of wind burst through the shattered gate, and Koga the wolf demon appeared, clad in his normal animal skin armor that gave him the freedom to do battle with his body and the ponytail that kept his raven hair from blocking him in battle. Although unseen, two of the Sacred Shikon Jewel shards were imbedded in his legs, giving him agility and strength, as well as the power to move so fast that he appeared as nothing more than a dervish of wind. "Where's Kagome, dog turd!" Koga demanded.

"Up there, Koga." Naraku called out, and Koga's attention suddenly shifted towards the black clad Kagome.

"Kagome! What did you do to her Naraku!" Koga yelled angrily.

"I saved her." Naraku said, and, even at that distance, his smirk was evident. "I saved her from the terrible love that plagued her heart, the love for Inuyasha."

Inuyasha almost dropped the Tetsusaiga. Although he knew Kagome had strong feelings for him, hearing it out loud suddenly made everything far more real.

"Now, kill these worthless demons Kagome." Naraku ordered softly.

As Kagome strung another arrow onto her bow, a voice called out. "Naraku! Inuyasha is mine!" Kikyo's voice cut in.

"My apologies, Lady Kikyo." Naraku simpered mockingly. "You're quite welcome to destroy him yourself."

As if things couldn't get any more chaotic, a thunderbolt struck the ground in front of Inuyasha and Koga. Standing inside the smoking crater stood Sesshomaru, Inuyasha's full-blooded demon half-brother. He wore his customary regal looking white kimono with the white fur on his left shoulder, and the spiked armor protector on where his right shoulder should have been, had it not been severed by the Tetsusaiga, which also spread along his midsection. His blood relation to Inuyasha was evident in the same long silver white hair, and, although neither Inuyasha nor Koga could see them, the amber colored eyes. He wore the swords Toukijin, forged from Goshinki's fangs, one of Naraku's incarnations (although Sesshomaru didn't know that) who broke the Tetsusaiga initially, and the Tenseiga, the sword of Life and Tetsusaiga's brother sword (both of whom were forged by the same blacksmith and from their father's fangs), which can revive up to one hundred souls with one single swing. Not that Sesshomaru cared for the lives of others, especially humans.

"Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha growled, "What are you doing here?"

"I have not come to banter, little brother." Sesshomaru scoffed. "I am here to slay this demon, for he has taken something of mine."

"Ah yes, Sesshomaru." Naraku said, ignoring the threats and enoying obvious confusion below him, "While your companion is in no way as powerful or as useful as Kagome, she serves her purpose."

Another light appeared, and, chained to a wall, was Rin, the small raven-haired human girl who Sesshomaru had taken in after she had attempted to care for him, after the first time Inuyasha used the Wind Scar, Sesshomaru being the test subject.

"Leave her alone, Naraku." Sesshomaru ordered calmly, though in his amber eyes, _something_ flickered. "Your fight is with me."

"You're wasting your time," Inuyasha scoffed, drawing Tetsusaiga, "Naraku is a coward. He fights through others."

"Why dirty my hands when it is so much more _fun_ to cause pain in much more creative ways." Naraku smiled.

"YOU BASTARD!" Inuyasha roared, and unleashed the Wind Scar straight for Naraku.

Naraku, however, merely leapt aside from the powerful onslaught. "I'll leave Kikyo to deal with you. Kagome should be able to handle these two on her own."

Inuyasha had no time to insult Naraku again as Kikyo's Sacred Arrow nearly speared him to the ground. Inuyasha found himself dodging the arrows with fear, for the last time Kikyo had struck him, he had been sealed for over fifty years. He was not about to let that happen, not when Kagome needed him.

He leapt for Kikyo, avoiding the barrage of arrows with more caution than ever before. "Kikyo, how could you betray me!" Inuyasha cried out.

"Inuyasha, I only wish for your death. Nothing will stop us from going to Hell together!" Kikyo cried out, anger flashing in her brown eyes.

* * *

Meanwhile, Koga and Sesshomaru dodged one of Kagome's Dark Arrows, as Naraku called them. "Kagome! Stop!" Koga called out desperately, but the amnesiac woman did not pay any heed.

Sesshomaru, on the other hand, dodged them warily, waiting for his chance to strike at the black clothed priestess. His chance finally when Koga was almost struck, and she fired a second arrow at the wolf demon, instead of the normal alternation between him and Sesshomaru. Inuyasha's elder brother flew up with demonic speed and landed in front of her, the sword Toukijin raised into the air, about to strike the human girl.

As Koga and Inuyasha watched in horror, the sword came within a hair's breath of slicing into her pale neck when it stopped. Sesshomaru struggled to move the sword, but his arm was locked in place, along with the sword.

_Toukijin has stopped, _Sesshomaru thought in shock and horror, _What is going on?_

"Sesshomaru, I guess you did not know that this sword, Toukijin, is formed of the fangs of one of my own incarnations. As such, this sword is a part of myself." Naraku said, smirking.

Kagome seemed to echo her master's smirk, and she placed another arrow into her bow.

The one-armed dog demon had only one choice. He released Toukijin and jumped high into the air as the arrow cut a black path through the air, striking the wall behind him and melting it as if the very arrow itself was acidic.

Toukijin, instead of falling to the ground, flew straight into Naraku's hands. "Such a powerful sword," Naraku said, admiring the large sword, "But it should be, seeing as how it was forged from my body."

Naraku smiled, knowing that he had maneuvered every last one of his enemies into a deadly trap. He just wondered if the human Voldemort was faring as well.

* * *

Harry leapt aside as another one of Voldemort's Killing Curses flew at him. Voldemort felt different in this battle, stronger. But Harry couldn't fully grasp what had happened as yet another Killing Curse whizzed by his ear. He countered by crying out, "Potestas Conor!"

The Explosion Spell blasted the wall apart, and only through a powerful Shield Charm and an astounding bout of agility did Lord Voldemort avoid falling to the ground.

Harry dearly wished he could Apparate, but it would be taxing on him, and the concentration needed was impossible to summon against fast moving objects. Swords were easier to block, requiring mostly instinct, so Apparation was easier, if taxing. In a real fight, not a sparring match, Apparation was not a wise choice for a young wizard, but it could be used as an extra boost. Spells required a bit more concentration and energy to cast, which was why few wizards had the capacity to Apparate in combat. The taxation of Apparation, plus the concentration, made it ineffective in a duel. In any combat, for that matter, few wizards could handle it. Harry was one of those few, however he was inexperienced in the art.

To be fair, he shouldn't have even been using Apparation in the first place, having only mastered it three days before this whole mess began. Remus would kill him if he knew Harry had used Apparation more than once, and more than once in a few minutes would make several people who cared about him want to kill him. Harry ignored the pain from thinking about those back home though, and focused on the task at hand.

Harry smirked, and could feel Voldemort's rage build behind his scar. He blocked it with another round of Occulemency. Out of the corner of his eye, he kept an eye on Ginny, who seemed content to fire spells at insects and the demons, as if she subconsciously knew that he wanted to fight Voldemort alone. He was more worried about Hedwig, but his snowy owl seemed to know that the demons were too much for her and stuck with shredding Naraku's insects. The others seemed to echo Harry's wish to battle Voldemort alone as Miroku tangled with the strange looking woman that he addressed as Kagura, Sango dodged attacks from a boy even younger than Ginny, seemingly unable to fight back. Shippo and Kilala aided Ginny, fighting the demons that seemingly swarmed into the area.

Harry felt a strange wave of pride at Ginny's resilience in the face of the terrifying demons. Before he could contemplate this, Voldemort had fired a strange, black colored curse.

Harry, having learned to dodge instead of block unfamiliar curses, leapt aside. The curse blasted the ground apart, leaving tainted ground where it struck.

Ginny found herself in a battle for her life, and, strangely enough, she wasn't afraid. She had fought Death Eaters just months before, but demons were a different story. She paused in her thinking to fire a Stunning Spell at a white haired beastly looking demon that wore a green kimono.

She wanted to go home, oh that much was certain, but she also felt safe here, in this strange, alien world full of monsters. All because Harry was here.

She cared about him a lot, maybe even loved him, but she had already buried those feelings. Hadn't she?

In any event, she was glad Harry was there.

Any more contemplative thinking was cut short when Hedwig swooped by, slicing another insect apart with her talons. Ginny smiled at the owl, reminded of her master's own ferocity, before firing another Stunner directly at a reptilian demon.

Sango wanted to cry. Her baby brother had been turned against her, and was now trying to kill her. "KOHAKU! Please, remember who you are!" She pleaded as the Hiraikotsu was raised to block his scythe.

Kohaku merely looked at her blankly, continuing his assault.

Miroku, meanwhile, battled it out with Kagura, knowing full well that he was outmatched by the Wind Sorceress' powers without his Wind Tunnel. His sutras were shredded to pieces by the wind, and his staff was useless unless he got close enough to Kagura to do some damage. All he could do was dodge and block the attacks, holding out for some unknown help.

Shippo was scared. He had never really fought in a battle before, not against Naraku, but then again, his adopted mother, Kagome, was in danger. He would protect his mommy till his dying breath, just like Inuyasha would. Shippo smiled inwardly, dodging a slash from a larger snake demon before Kilala ripped out its stomach with her claws. If Kagome was his adopted mother, than Inuyasha was a cross between an adopted father and older brother. They fought a lot, and Inuyasha smacked him, but Shippo really cared for Inuyasha, and, like Kagome had told him several times, Inuyasha cared about everyone, especially Shippo and Kagome.

Harry dodged a Cruciatus Curse, and fired off a quick volley of spells from his staff. A Stunner, a Disarming Charm, a Force Spell (A concentrated blast of air that felt like a vicious punch), and to finish it off, another Explosion Spell.

Voldemort dodged the Stunner, blocked the Disarming Charm, was winded by the Force Spell, and the Explosion Spell blasted him from the rooftop, sending him flying into the castle courtyard.

Harry smiled, and looked around, seeing if anyone needed his help. Just then, Inuyasha's cry of pain caught several people's attention. He looked at the others, trying to get permission to go after Voldemort and help Inuyasha, until he caught Ginny's eye. She smiled at him, as if to say, _Go get that bastard._

Harry, despite the seriousness of the situation, smiled back before jumping through the hole in the wall he made himself, towards the real battle.

* * *

Inuyasha's reason for his cry of pain became apparent as Kikyo's Sacred Arrow had slashed his side, narrowly avoiding pinning him to the ground. Although a mere flesh wound, and although Inuyasha had had more severe injuries (Sesshomaru gutting him with his hand, for one), the purifying power of the Sacred Arrow burned into his demon blood, as though liquid fire burned in side of him. He fell to the ground, unable to move, paralyzed by the force of the Sacred Arrow.

"Die Inuyasha!" Kikyo shouted, preparing another arrow, this one, straight for Inuyasha's heart.

As the Sacred Arrow neared Inuyasha, like most people on the verge of death, Inuyasha had an epiphany. _This isn't Kikyo. The Kikyo I knew. The Kikyo I loved would never do this. This is just a shell. Kikyo is gone. It's Kagome I'm meant to be with now._

_If Kagome can regain her memories, and if she still wants you,_ a nasty little voice answered.

But Inuyasha had no time to answer as the Sacred Arrow came closer and closer. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the pink glow of the arrow that would be Inuyasha's undoing came ever closer. Then, a familiar voice was heard. "Repulso Arrow!"

The Sacred Arrow was suddenly deflected off course and time seemed to regain its speed as it struck the earth, a good ten feet from Inuyasha.

Inuyasha managed to regain his footing and stood up to see Harry Potter smirking at him, staff outstretched. Inuyasha managed a small whisper of thanks, but he knew the boy, no, the warrior in front of him heard it.

"Where's Kagome!" Harry asked, concerned as to why there was a Kagome look a like battling Inuyasha, who had not yet found the girl in question.

Before Inuyasha could answer, Kikyo fired a Sacred Arrow at Harry, who dodged it narrowly, not having the time to Apparate. Inuyasha removed the Tetsusaiga, preparing to strike at the undead priestess. He no longer looked conflicted, no longer torn between two women who should never have been alive at the same time, not in love with two women at the same time. He had a look of fiery determination now.

"You wish to strike me down, Inuyasha. Me, whom you love?" Kikyo asked, her expression clearly showing she thought Inuyasha was bluffing.

"You're not Kikyo!" Inuyasha growled, eyes shining with an expression of anger and fury, "Kikyo died long ago! The Kikyo I loved is dead!"

With that final cry, Inuyasha leapt forward, and with one mighty swing of the Tetsusaiga, cut the undead priestess, Kikyo, who had once been a kind woman, now a mere clay shell of her former self, into nearly two halves, the blade stopping at her chest. She didn't have any blood exiting her wounds; she merely cracked, like a clay doll.

With one final look of shock, the clay doll collapsed into dust. The dust scattered around the ground like Inuyasha's unshed tears, before dispersing into the winds.

As Harry looked on in shock, Inuyasha merely stood there, Tetsusaiga's tip touching the ground, shaking slightly. He looked almost regretful for what he had done, yet, he also looked happy. "Kikyo, you're free now." Inuyasha whispered, looking down in sorrow.

"I am, Inuyasha." Kikyo responded.

Inuyasha's head jerked up as he looked at an ethereal form of Kikyo, which glowed a calm, friendly blue, and actually looked happy and grateful, an expression Inuyasha had never seen on the normally guarded Kikyo, dead or alive. "Kik-Kikyo." Inuyasha whispered, unable to believe what had happened.

"Inuyasha, I thank you. My soul was trapped in that hateful shell, or at least part of my soul was. I have wanted to be free, to finally rest for so long. I thank you, my love." Kikyo said, smiling at him.

Inuyasha looked at her in disbelief, as she acted like the Kikyo of old, or perhaps the true Kikyo, not the Priestess Kikyo, not the Undead Kikyo, but the Kikyo that Inuyasha knew existed within both.

"Kikyo…I can't go with you now, not to the Underworld." Inuyasha said, before saying in a lower voice, "I love Kagome, and she still needs me."

"I know, Inuyasha," Kikyo responded, "My true wish for you is that you be happy now. We could never have lasted, you and I, Inuyasha. It was not meant to be."

"Kikyo, I do love you as well, but I love Kagome too. And…" Inuyasha explained, but found the words missing within his mind.

"You love me in a different way than you love Kagome, Inuyasha. She and I are different, because of how we are raised. The choices, the decisions, the heritage that I and my reincarnation have are different. I love you, Inuyasha, but my love pales to Kagome's love. She is your true soul mate." Kikyo said benevolently.

"Thank you, Kikyo." Inuyasha whispered.

"And thank you, Inuyasha, for setting me free. I must leave now, to pass on the other side." Kikyo said, and Inuyasha looked up at her. "Goodbye, Inuyasha." She whispered, and her form dissolved into tiny spots of light that flew into the sky.

"Goodbye, my beloved Kikyo."

* * *

As Inuyasha and Kikyo reconciled, Koga was narrowly avoiding another priestess' arrows. Kagome's Dark Arrows had slashed his left arm, turning it numb and almost unusable.

Sesshomaru wasn't fairing much better, the Dark Priestess showering him with her deadly arrows while Naraku blocked any attack towards her. The two of them fought in a deadly combo that Sesshomaru could not defeat. Not only that, he was still worried (though he'd never admit it) for Rin, his charge. On top of all of that, he had lost the Toukijin, his powerful sword that rivaled even Tetsusaiga in power.

Sesshomaru slashed with his poison whip at Kagome, who was shielded by Naraku appearing in front of her and blocking the strike with Toukijin.

"You cannot win this battle, Sesshomaru. Nor can you, Koga. I have caught you deep within my trap." Naraku smirked, and even Sesshomaru couldn't help the feeling of hopelessness pouring throughout his body.

* * *

Harry, though understanding Inuyasha needed time to take that goodbye in, was also concerned with the fact that the probably unconscious Dark Lord across the courtyard would wake up soon, the problem that the others, especially Ginny and Hedwig, were in trouble outside in a battle for there lives, and add that to the fact that Kagome was still missing, and he decided that Inuyasha had enough time. "Inuyasha! Where's Kagome!" Harry shouted, snapping Inuyasha out of his reverie.

"She's… over there." Inuyasha said, pointing to the opposite side of the courtyard. "Naraku wiped her memories and turned her against us." Inuyasha muttered.

"It might have been Voldemort. Has Naraku ever done something like that before?" Harry asked, turning towards the other side of the courtyard.

"Yeah, with Sango's brother Kohaku." Inuyasha spat, hating Naraku with every fiber of his being.

"Let me see if I can bring Kagome back." Harry told Inuyasha, "I think I might have a way."

Before he could stop himself, Inuyasha blurted out, "Really?"

"Yeah," Harry said, smiling at the half-demon. "I think I just might. I just need you to keep Naraku and anyone else busy while I deal with Kagome, alright?" He asked, looking into Inuyasha's eyes. As green eyes met amber eyes, understanding passed between the two warriors.

"You got it." Inuyasha said, nodding at the wizard.

"Then let's save Kagome."

* * *

To say Naraku was displeased would be an understatement when Inuyasha showed up would have been accurate. To say he was displeased when the young boy that Voldemort had claimed was the bane of his plans would have been an understatement. More like extremely and utterly pissed off, even if it didn't show. Naraku realized he had no choice but to fully step in and fight.

Naraku was no coward, he just took more pleasure in watching others destroy each other as his plans and plots came together. Like a builder looking at his completed project, except more sadistic and evil. But if necessary, he would step in and finish something himself.

And so, with that decision, he grasped the Toukijin tightly and fully immersed himself in what would be the final battle for either him, or his enemies.

* * *

Inuyasha didn't know why he trusted a boy about the age of Kagome to save the woman he loved, nor did he know why he was fighting on the orders of that same boy. He had barely met the boy five days ago! Inuyasha never trusted anyone that soon, not even Kagome had earned his full trust before then.

But somehow, he knew that Harry would save Kagome. Something within that boy was special, and it would be enough.

Besides, he got to kick Naraku's ass. If the shape shifting, constantly body changing demon had an ass that could be kicked.

Inuyasha didn't use the Wind Scar though, not yet. He wanted Kagome free of Naraku's power before that, just in case. He didn't know what Naraku had done to her, but he knew two things. Kagome would regain her memory, and Naraku was going to get his ass kicked.

Inuyasha didn't question why Toukijin was in Naraku's hands as he slashed at Naraku, ignoring the fact that his older brother and Koga were also attacking Naraku. But he had to keep them from interfering with Harry's plan.

"Koga!" Inuyasha called out as he blocked a strike from Toukijin, knowing Sesshomaru didn't care about Kagome and probably would ignore her, "Leave Kagome alone! Let that guy deal with it!"

"If you think I'm gonna-" Koga started, but a large insect leg burst from Naraku's shoulder and flew straight for him, attempting to spear him to the ground with its sharp point, so he had no real chance to banter.

Sesshomaru had gotten behind Naraku while this was happening, however, and came down on him with his claws outstretched, opening his mouth to deliver a last insult or battle cry to Naraku when a large, clawed green hand burst from Naraku's back, tearing his clothing in a hole where it had erupted, and punched the Western Lord's stomach, driving the air from his lungs and breaking two of his ribs. The one-armed demon was thrown by the force of the punch into the wall behind him, about ten feet away.

"What the hell!" Koga shouted as he dodged another spear-like appendage. He leapt forward, fist outstretched to strike Naraku, when another spear leg shot out of his back this time, and stabbed at him, forcing him to twist in mid-air, landing on the ground gracefully, but no closer to striking Naraku.

"My entire body is a weapon, made up of hundreds of demons to form me. You cannot defeat me." Naraku said, laughing as he blocked a strike from the Tetsusaiga with the Toukijin.

* * *

Harry dodged one of Kagome's arrows that polluted the air and corrupted the ground, wondering exactly why he thought his clearly insane plan would work. But he had to give it a shot. The raven-haired girl had been kind to them when she had no reason to be, and Harry intended to pay her back in spades.

"Kagome! Stop this!" Harry yelled, knowing it was useless but he had to give it a shot.

She merely looked blank, and fired yet another arrow.

Harry, knowing that Kagome would have to be awake for his plan to work, fired a Disarming Charm. However, the priestess merely dodged the jet of red light, and fired another arrow.

_Merlin, how many arrows does she have?_

Harry fired several more Disarming Charms in a row, in an attempt to make the priestess trip up. The last one finally got her as she tripped over a crack in the roof, probably made by the explosions and battle that raged around them. The jet of red light smashed her into the roof, and tossed her bow and quiver of arrows away from her violently.

Harry, knowing time was short, fired a Leaping Spell, and landed atop the roof, right in front of Kagome. Looking straight into her chocolate brown eyes that reminded him strangely of Ginny, which was strange because it was in the middle of a deadly battle, he thought to himself, _Here goes nothing. _

"Legilimens!"

* * *

Harry, upon immediately using Legilimency to break into the priestess' mind, found a blank wall between him and Kagome's memories. In order to free those memories and save Kagome, that wall needed to be destroyed. So, Harry, using what he had learned in the two weeks Dumbledore had instructed him in Legilimency and Occulumency, attacked the barrier with everything he had.

He found the wall stronger than he anticipated, actively gaining power from, of all things, Kagome herself!

He suddenly heard Kagome's voice in the depths of her mind. _STOP! DON'T MAKE ME REMEMBER!_

"You have to Kagome!" Harry found himself answering, "You have to remember, in order to save Inuyasha and the others! They need you!"

_NO ONE NEEDS ME!_ Her voice boomed back, and Harry found himself giving ground against the wall's stubborn power.

"Yes they do! Inuyasha needs you! He loves you!" Harry shouted back.

Harry felt the wall shudder for a moment, before it came back up, stronger than ever. _HE DOESN'T! HE DOES NOT! HE LOVES KIKYO! NOT ME! NOT ME! NOT ME!_

Harry found the battering onslaught of the _NOT ME_'s too much, and gave ground, but knew that if he failed, chances were that Inuyasha would never find the strength to finish the fight with Naraku, giving Voldemort a chance to help out, then everyone would lose.

"Yes he does! He said it! Kikyo is gone, Kagome! He destroyed the shell, and freed her soul!" Harry yelled, remembering how Inuyasha called the Kagome-look-a-like Kikyo. "He did it for you! He loves you!"

This time, he found the wall cracking, and he launched more mental assaults against it, trying to break it down. He could feel Kagome's power draining from the barrier, but still, it held strong. _He loves me?_ The voice asked softly, disbelievingly, almost to itself.

"Yes Kagome! He does!" Harry yelled, feeling his mind begin to weaken against the barrier. His previous struggles had drained him heavily as it was, and breaking the barrier was far too taxing on him. Harry knew he needed help.

"I need your help Kagome!" Harry called out desperately, "Help me, so that we can save Inuyasha!"

_Inuyasha…_ The voice whispered, and it echoed around Harry. _INUYASHA!_

With that cry, Harry felt and upsurge of power from Kagome's mind, this time, intent on shattering the barrier. "Together!" Harry shouted, combing his mental strength with Kagome's.

He felt the barrier shatter, and suddenly he was immersed in Kagome's mind…

He watched as a young Kagome played with a baby boy who couldn't have been more than a year old.

He watched an older looking Kagome crying at a funeral, where a man who had Kagome's straight black hair lay in the coffin, pale and unmoving.

He watched Kagome's first day of Highschool, and smiled as she wandered and bumped into several people on accident, before finally finding her friends.

He watched the Kagome he knew today meet Inuyasha for the first time, and laughed as Inuyasha was being "sat".

But as he watched this, something clicked within him, and he remembered that there were still people outside who needed his and Kagome's help.

"Kagome!" Harry called out as another memory of Inuyasha being "sat" passed him by. "We need to help the others! Sango, Shippo, Miroku, and Inuyasha still need your help!"

Harry felt Kagome's mind acknowledge this, and the memories faded and he felt himself leaving her mind.

As he left, he heard a soft _Thank you_, as if the wind had merely whispered it in his ears.

* * *

Inuyasha saw that Harry had his staff pointed at Kagome's head, who was laying against the wall. He hoped that whatever magic that bo-warrior, he corrected, was invoking, it would save his love.

Inuyasha had no more time to watch as the Toukijin, wielded by Naraku, nearly severed his arm off had he not blocked with the Tetsusaiga. Growling, he shoved Naraku back and slashed with his sword, determined to slice that arrogant smirk of Naraku's face.

Koga, meanwhile, had to keep dodging Naraku's spear legs, unable to get in close enough to use his hand-to-hand combat abilites, and having no other weapons, he could only dodge. He was angry that Naraku seemed only to use part of his attention to fight him, looking more towards Inuyasha.

Sesshomaru was on the other side, and even his icy exterior was ruffled by the way Naraku ignored him, putting his back to the Western Lord while fighting Inuyasha and the wolf-demon. He had gotten up gracefully (like there was any other way he could move), and charged at Naraku again, ignoring his cracked battle armor.

However, Naraku reacted easily and still blocked Inuyasha's slash and struck at Koga at the same time. His reaction came in the form of the demon fist that had erupted from his back to strike Sesshomaru earlier returning and striking again at the elder dog-demon, who narrowly avoided a similar fate. Sesshomaru's energy whip seemed to be unable to affect the fist farther than a few shallow cuts as he continued dodging the blows from the seemingly independent appendage. He had to keep dodging the much more powerful strikes of the clawed fist, unable to get in close and lacking any other weapon.

Naraku was laughing internally, watching these three foolish canines strike at him like the dogs they were. They could do nothing against his superior body and mind, and even if they could, they would never destroy him. Not as long as _it_ remained hidden and out of harms way. Naraku would always return, as long as _it _was safe.

Naraku's gloating was cut short as a familiar pink colored arrow cut through the air, and Naraku was forced to leap out of the way, lest the Sacred Arrow destroy his body, like it did only a few months before.

Naraku looked up, expecting to see Kikyo standing on the rooftop, but instead, Kagome and that green-eyed brat stood there, Kagome's bowstring still shuddering from the shot.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha and Koga yelled in relief at the same time.

"Naraku! You'll pay!" Kagome declared, readying another arrow.

Naraku crouched down, ready to start the fight anew.

* * *

Inuyasha felt a song in his heart as Kagome appeared to have returned to her true nature, and he struck first, showing the impatience and brash behavior he was known for. The Tetsusaiga struck the eternal Wind Scar around it, and sent it straight at Naraku.

Naraku leapt aside, but Kagome tracked him with her bow while Harry trained his staff on the demon as well. Sacred Arrow and Impediment Jinx flew through the air at the same time, and Naraku had to twist to dodge both, though the Sacred Arrow's aura burnt his clothing. Koga leapt up a moment later, swinging his fist straight for Naraku, while Sesshomaru leapt up from behind, their speed equal.

The insect legs struck at Koga as Naraku turned and struck at Sesshomaru with his own sword. Koga spun in mid-air; his leg outstretched, and broke one of the insect legs and batted aside the others. Sesshomaru caught the Toukijin with his poison claws, and, although the blade bit into his palm, the silver-haired demon didn't flinch.

Inuyasha, not wanting to be left out, leapt at Naraku as Koga neared the insidious demon. Naraku batted Koga aside with the giant demon hand on his back he had used on Sesshomaru, and stabbed at Inuyasha with his insect legs. Meanwhile, another, smaller demon claw formed on Naraku's hand, and attempted to gut Sesshomaru, who had to release Toukijin to avoid being injured.

As the wolf-demon flew by, Inuyasha hacked off two of the legs angrily, letting the mad rush of battle sing in his veins, awakening his demon blood.

Kagome and Harry could only watch, as the three canine demons were too close to Naraku, too much risk of hitting one of them.

However, Harry felt a sudden twinge in his forehead, and he realized that Voldemort was awakening. He looked at Kagome, not wanting to leave the newly freed priestess on her own. "Kagome, I need to go do something. Will you be okay?" Harry asked, looking into her eyes.

"I'll be fine," She said, though her tone and eyes seemed to say she wasn't.

"Sure?" Harry asked again.

"Go." Kagome said, and a small amount of her old personality showed in her eyes.

* * *

As Harry leapt away, Kagome felt slightly afraid. She felt afraid that without anyone's aid, she would fall back into Naraku's control and back against Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha…"

The familiar word passed through her lips again, a different, more sad and wistful tone then ever before, even after their rows and the incidents with Kikyo.

The name oozed a mixture of resentment, fear, jealousy, and sorrow. She felt her sadness that had always been there, ever since she had first witnessed Inuyasha and Kikyo kiss, lying just beneath the surface, to emerge like a monster from the wells of her heart as she watched the man she loved run into the arms of another after she had been the one to care and worry for him during and after every battle.

And now she had betrayed him, just like Kikyo. But she hadn't died for him. She still didn't measure up.

She had hurt Inuyasha, and now she knew the true Darkness within herself. She knew what she had to do.

* * *

As Inuyasha slashed at Naraku's head, he caught a new scent, from Kagome's direction. He had gotten a lot of scents at the moment, from anger, to sorrow, to despair. This scent was regret, sadness, and despair all in one chilling package.

He had no more time to contemplate as Naraku countered with a vicious and powerful blow with the Toukijin, sending him flying through the air, the momentum of the two blades colliding overwhelming him. As he flew back, Koga took his place as Sesshomaru waited, as always, for his time to strike and deal a brutal hit. Koga dodged a slash from the Toukijin, and kicked towards Naraku's chest, but before he could connect, he was being pushed back as a sharp pain was felt in his gut. What he saw as he looked down chilled his demon blood to the core.

To the wolf-demon's horror, an insect leg had erupted from Naraku's shoulder and ran itself through his gut like a morbid spear.

As Koga was thrown to the ground, he felt darkness overwhelm him…

* * *

Kagome screamed in horror as the leader of the wolf tribe fell to ground. Although she was not as close as Koga wanted them to be, he was her friend, and now he was a gravely injured friend.

She moved towards him quickly, and quickly placed her hand on his neck, hoping against hope that there was still a pulse, that Koga was strong enough to survive.

To her eternal relief, Koga's pulse was faint, but strong and steady. He would live.

She looked up to see Inuyasha looking at them strangely, and she feared he might be angry again, but he merely nodded at her, his eyes telling her to stay back. No jealousy, no anger, none of the normal Inuyasha behavior when Kagome helped Koga.

Something had changed with Inuyasha, she knew. She feared it might have been her betrayal, and she wept inside because of that.

* * *

Harry dodged a Killing Curse from an enraged Voldemort, whose fury seemed only amplified by the fact that Harry Potter had not only knocked him out, but hadn't found the time to even wait for his opponent to recover.

Harry of course, didn't want to kill an opponent when he was down, even if he wasn't distracted by on-the-edge-of-death half-demons, memory wiped priestesses, and angry shape-shifting multiple body part demons.

He fired another Exploding Spell, hoping for a similar result, but Voldemort had learned not to underestimate the Boy-Who-Lived or his new weapon.

The Dark Lord fired a Leaping Spell and dodged it, before firing of a rapid amount of Dark Curses, that, while not as deadly as Avada Kedavra or as painful as a Cruciatus Curse, they were still powerful and could be fatal.

Harry, not knowing the full strength of his shields, decided to dodge and play it safe, firing his own Leaping Spell, and avoiding the barrage. The curses struck the roof he had been standing on, and it fell apart, blasted to bits and cut into tiny pieces.

Harry looked warily at the damage, before firing back with a Stunner and a Force Spell.

As he watched Voldemort block his spells, he wondered how he and Ginny were to get home, with only Voldemort seemingly possessing the knowledge or powers necessary to open a portal.

As he contemplated this impossible problem, he dodged another Killing Curse as the worry only grew.

* * *

Inuyasha dodged another slash from Toukijin, unable to use the Wind Scar, due to Naraku's seemingly endless agility. He slashed right back, heading for Naraku's belly. Naraku blocked with the Toukijin, and Sesshomaru leapt up at that moment, and slashed with his energy whip.

Naraku jumped aside, and Inuyasha was barely able to avoid the energy whip's slash. "Watch it." Inuyasha growled, before leaping after Naraku.

Sesshomaru merely glared at his younger brother, as if to say _You watch it. _A moment later, he leapt after his younger brother and Naraku, not wanting to let his much weaker (in his eyes) sibling kill his enemy.

Seeing as how Naraku was a safe distance from Inuyasha at that moment, Kagome had fired a Sacred Arrow.

Naraku was forced to dodge the pink colored arrow, but its great aura still managed to burn his clothing and singe his skin. He glared at Kagome, and lashed out with an insect spear leg. However, his anger had distracted him from the half-demon hell bent on killing him.

Which proved to be a mistake when he, just like his puppet a few days ago, was victim to the Wind Scar's awesome power. In a powerful burst of shining golden power, Naraku, formerly Onigumo, disappeared in one flash of light.

* * *

Ginny winced as she blasted away an armored demon with a Stunning Spell, said armored demon having slashed her arm slightly, leaving a trail of blood flowing. Ginny didn't have any time to heal, however, as a roar behind her caused her to around rapidly.

Ginny dodged a slash from a coyote demon, and blasted him into the air which a Stunner. However, another demon, this time, a reptilian one, struck her in the back with its claw, and sent her sprawling onto the ground. Her robe was cut slightly, but she herself had managed to escape any injury this time. However, her wand, she found out in horror, had been knocked aside.

As the reptilian demon raised its claw to slice her apart, a screech was heard. A split second later, Hedwig was slashing at the demon's eyes, before she flew off as the demon tried to swat her aside. However, the damage was done. The reptilian demon was now effectively blind, and Hedwig's intervention allowed her to grab her wand and blast that demon away too.

Ginny smiled at Hedwig, who hooted in reply, before the two foreigners turned to fight on, their thoughts both dwelling on the Boy-Who-Lived…

Miroku narrowly avoid another Cutting Wind from Kagura, and threw more sutras, though he knew it was in vain. His prediction was proved a moment later when she struck them aside with the wind, and the Cutting Winds went for him again.

This time, however, he didn't notice a particularly vicious ox-demon standing behind him until it was almost on top of him. He smashed it aside with his staff, but the distraction cost him dearly as the Cutting Winds slashed his left arm down almost to the bone, rendering him basically one handed.

Miroku glared at Kagura, who laughed at the monk's wilting resistance.

Sango caught the chain from Kohaku's sickle with her secondary weapon, the katana, and tossed it aside, forcing the weapon from her younger brother's grasp.

She rushed him then, and knocked him down with a thrust from the Hiraikotsu, and pinned him down with it, using its heavy weight to subdue her brother. "Kohaku! I will save you!" She cried out, looking into her brother's expressionless eyes, which cut her more deeply than any blade or demon had ever gone before.

* * *

"I did it…" Inuyasha whispered, almost unable to believe that after so long, he had beaten Naraku.

Kagome looked in shock, and cried out, "You did it!"

Inuyasha turned to look at her, actually smiling slightly, but then she remembered what she had done, and she turned away, the tears beginning to show.

Inuyasha, smelling the familiar (though rare now) scent of Kagome's tears, which brought pain to his heart, he leapt towards the young woman, and before she could run away, he turned her around and embraced her forcefully, just as he had done after that particularly nasty bout with Sesshomaru. "Kagome… I'm so glad your okay." Inuyasha whispered, relief flooding his blood.

"I'm sorry Inuyasha. I'm sorry for what I did. I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" Kagome whispered, sobbing.

"Kagome, I'm the one that should be sorry. You always took care of me, and I always ran off for that clay doll look-a-like of Kikyo." Inuyasha said soothingly, pulling her closer to his chest, trying to comfort her. "Why do you always do that for me, even when I don't treat you right?" He asked, wanting to hear the words from her own mouth.

"I love you Inuyasha." Kagome whispered softly, as if the words had a strange power that could be lost if she said it louder, "That's why. I can't help myself, I love you."

"I-... I love you too, Kagome." Inuyasha whispered softly, the words so foreign and yet so right on his tounge.

Kagome stiffened, and she felt shock, happiness, and disbelief flowing through her. Even though Harry had told her that Inuyasha loved her, hearing it from the half-demon was a different story.

She pulled back a bit, looking into his amber eyes, which were more open an caring than she had ever seen. Her lips parted of their own accord, and they drew closer together…

When Inuyasha jerked back, grabbed Kagome, and jumped up, narrowly avoiding the insect leg that speared the ground where they had been a second before. If they had stayed, they would have been killed.

"It's not possible…" Kagome whispered.

"Impossible. I hit him with the Wind Scar…" Inuyasha said, equally in disbelief.

"Nothing is impossible for me." Naraku replied, smirking.

* * *

Naraku smiled. Inuyasha's blow had been painful, true, but far from a mortal blow. His body was impossible to destroy. After all, they were merely parts of other demons. Only one thing in the body was truly Naraku.

Onigumo's heart. The bandit that gave his body and soul to the demons held them together, forming Naraku. What held every part of those demons together was a twisted heart, and as long as it existed, Naraku was invulnerable.

His body, however, no longer looked as human as before. Not having been regenerated with clothes on, and with the process of making his body seem human far too much for the new body, he looked more demonic now. The insect legs were now sticking out of his shoulder and back, along with the giant demon fist that lay just below the spider mark on his back. His legs had shown their true nature, being made of cat demon legs, to allow him the most maneuverability and speed. Only the best demon parts made up Naraku's body. They had long, shaggy dark brown to black hair. His hands were demon claws, whose nerve endings allowed Naraku the most dexterity when wielding the Toukijin, which he had picked up casually, aware of the shock on his opponent's faces.

His torso had retained more humanity, save for the extra appendages sticking out of him. His head had remained the same, with the same superior smirk still on there.

"Shall we begin again?" Naraku asked, looking from Kagome and Inuyasha to Sesshomaru, who only seemed slightly perturbed. But for Sesshomaru, that was a lot of shock.

Inuyasha reacted first, leaping for him angrily, while Sesshomaru seemed content to watch and wait, like a snake waiting to strike. A very dangerous snake.

Naraku dodged aside, and struck at Inuyasha with his insect legs, when Sesshomaru rushed forward, and slashed with his energy whip. Naraku blocked it with the Toukijin, and followed it up by using the sword pressure of the Toukijin to blast Sesshomaru back, cutting his robes and leaving small trails of blood.

Inuyasha slashed at the legs meanwhile, and hacked one of before another managed to bat him aside with a hard smack to the head. He fell back, but it was fortunate, as Kagome's Sacred Arrow whizzed by, headed straight for Naraku. Naraku blocked with the Toukijin, sending the arrow rebounding off with a clang that left the sword humming angrily. Inuyasha leapt for Naraku again, slashing in hopes of damaging Naraku or the seemingly injured Toukijin.

Instead, two of the insect legs blocked the Tetsusaiga, and somehow, by some magic Naraku possessed, they held strong, sending sparks flying, leaving trails of heat that made Inuyasha slightly uncomfortable, but nothing more. Inuyasha growled, thinking only one thing. _We're in trouble…_

* * *

Kagome fired another arrow at Naraku, while echoing Inuyasha's disparate thoughts. But she was also thinking quickly. While not as well versed in demon physiology as Sango or even Miroku, she knew that if a demon had been hit by something like the Wind Scar, it would be destroyed. Only two people had ever withstood the Wind Scar before today, Sesshomaru (thanks to the Tenseiga), and-

"Onigumo…" Kagome whispered, realization hitting her features. Onigumo had survived multiple Wind Scars by Inuyasha, and Inuyasha couldn't use the ultimate technique of the Tetsusaiga, the Backlash Wave because Onigumo was human, but Naraku wasn't…

"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried out, knowing that Inuyasha's Backlash Wave was their best chance at defeating Naraku, "He's regenerating just like Onigumo! Onigumo's heart must be around here somewhere, hiding!"

Inuyasha stopped short, and quickly processed Kagome's idea, and realized that since Onigumo was a part of Naraku, and Onigumo could rebuild himself, then- "Alright! I'll find Onigumo's heart and take it out!" Inuyasha declared, immediately smelling the air, feeling out for that particular stink of Naraku that wasn't emanating from the body in front of him.

"Wait Inuyasha! Try the Backlash Wave!" Kagome cried out, and luckily for them, Naraku and even Sesshomaru, a previous hunter of the sword did not understand what the technique was.

"Oh yeah…" Inuyasha muttered, remembering his technique and the power to shred apart bodies. Even Naraku couldn't regenerate from that.

"Alright! I'm going for it!" Inuyasha cried out, and leapt again for Naraku, waiting for his chance.

He seemed to be stuck in a strange pattern, perhaps almost a dance, as the battle wore on. He would slash at Naraku, who would block, and strike at Sesshomaru at the same time with one of his freaky extra appendages, then Naraku would strike at Inuyasha with the Toukijin, followed up by Inuyasha parrying, and then beginning the process again…

Suddenly, as Naraku leapt back, avoiding two slashes from both Inuyasha and Sesshomaru, Kagome's Sacred Arrow hit him dead on.

Naraku screamed in pain as the arrow burned into his flesh, boiling his blood, and exiting his back, leaving a fist sized hole where his chest cavity was.

As this happened, Sesshomaru lashed out with his energy whip, slashing off Naraku's head, while Inuyasha unleashed another Wind Scar, obliterating Naraku's body, at least temporarily.

As the smoke began to clear after a few minutes, Naraku reappeared, much angrier than before, but otherwise, no damage was shown. "You three have annoyed me long enough. Die!" He cried out, and leapt into the air, and poison vapors began violently swirling around him in mid air, preparing themselves to strike at the three.

As the poison tornado launched itself through the air, intent on disintegrating the bodies of the three warriors, Inuyasha leapt in front of it, Tetsusaiga raised. "BACKLASH WAVE!"

Suddenly, the Wind Scar struck the poison tornado, and, in an impossible feat, launched the tornado back, multiplying it into several gale force tornadoes that would tear Naraku to pieces.

The first tornado struck Naraku's lower half, and tore it apart. Two more succeeding tornados ripped them into tiny pieces of flesh, which began melting away, thanks to Naraku's own poison that was now turned against him. A fourth tornado struck the center of his chest cavity, and ripped it apart from the center, and a fifth struck his head, shredding it. His arms followed the cranium, struck by the last two tornadoes. Thanks to the poison, no blood fell from the sky, no bits of flesh, nothing remained of the Naraku, once Onigumo.

* * *

Suddenly, Kagura froze, her arm raised upwards, about to strike the wounded Miroku down. "He's gone…" She whispered. "I'm free…"

Miroku heard this, and grabbed his prayer beads, and ripped them off, bracing himself for the normal violent suction of the Wind Tunnel, the void that sucks all things into it. But there was nothing. Where the black hole had resided in his hand, nothing remained save flesh.

Sango watched as her brother's blank eyes become alive again, and she felt tears of joy now running down her face. She ran towards Kohaku, and embraced him. "Sister," Kohaku said softly, "I remember…"

"Kohaku…" Sango sobbed, holding her brother close, "It's all over. It's finally over."

Miroku, sensing that Kagura's hostility had faded, ran towards the embracing demon hunter siblings with a smile on his face, his prayer beads gone.

Kagura grabbed the feather from her hair and threw it high, where it turned gigantic, and she leapt on top, and rode it away. "I can be free now…" She whispered, heading towards the north, where she could be free.

Ginny watched as the remaining demons from Naraku's guard began looking around in confusion, and the poison insects retreated, sensing their master's defeat. The guards followed suit, unwilling to face whoever destroyed their master. As Ginny sagged, letting the feeling and adrenaline of battle fade, Miroku called out, reminding them of an urgent priority. "Let's get to the others!"

The warriors ran into the castle, eager to see their friends after the battle.

* * *

Harry dodged another Killing Curse, albeit a little slower. _Merlin… Just how much power does he have!_ Harry wondered.

It turns out that the God Tree Staff had a bit of a downside. It amplified the power of the spell, but also drained the caster a lot faster than a wand.

And so, Harry was now fighting with half strength and waning, while Voldemort just kept firing off Unforgivables like there was no tomorrow.

Voldemort pointed his wand for Harry again and opened his mouth, and Harry leapt aside prematurely, which turned out to be a bad idea, when a Killing Curse went straight for him after Voldemort changed direction rapidly. Harry threw himself down, narrowly avoiding the Avada Kedavra, but a second one was already forming on Riddle's wand.

As the green light sped towards Harry, he scrambled to move, knowing he would never be able to escape in his condition.

As the light entered terminal range, a flash of white-silver overwhelmed Harry's view. _Is this death?_ Harry thought as he felt himself lose his balance and fall over.

His question was answered after a moment.

"Get up you stupid kid!"

_Okay, Inuyasha's here. Guess I'm not dead, or I'm in hell. I'd prefer to think I'm alive. _

Harry got up, and said quietly, "Thanks Inuyasha."

"Don't thank me just yet." The half demon said roughly, and turned towards Voldemort.

"Is this the guy?" He asked.

"Yeah, he's the one who helped Voldemort. Judging from what Kagome's mind was like before I freed her, he was the one who wiped her memory." Harry growled, readying his staff.

Inuyasha's hackles rose, and he raised the Tetsusaiga. "You helped hurt Kagome? Then you're dead!" Inuyasha cried out, leaping for Voldemort.

Voldemort fired a Killing Curse, which Inuyasha blocked, and the half demon landed in front of the Dark Lord. Voldemort realized that there were others already heading towards here, and that this Inuyasha, that black-haired girl, and Potter were already there, ready to kill him.

Voldemort swung his wand in a wide arc, along with a cry of "Concussum!"

A wave of concentrated air erupted from the area Voldemort overlapped with his arc, sending Inuyasha and the others flying. Voldemort fired a Leaping Spell, and landed a good twenty feet away. As Ginny, Hedwig, Sango (With tears on her face and murder in her eyes), and the others ran in, Voldemort had his back to them, and threw his arms wide.

As if a giant sword had ripped through the very air, the area in front of Voldemort ripped open, revealing a large, black, gaping portal that looked like a wound in the very world, the very fabric of reality.

Without hesitation, Voldemort leapt in, back into the void.

"Damn!" Harry cried out, getting up quickly. "Ginny, Hedwig, come on! We need to follow him!"

The two of them ran towards him, and Harry quickly made a decision. "Hedwig! Grab my shoulder. Ginny, come closer!"

As the snowy owl latched itself onto her master, the red head stepped close to him. Suddenly, without hesitation and barely conscious of what he was doing, Harry grabbed Ginny, and held her close, hugging her tightly to his chest. "Thanks for everything!" Harry called out, and Ginny echoed him, her response slightly slowed by the fact that she was being held by the Boy-Who-Lived. "Goodbye!" They cried out.

Before the others could respond, Harry Apparated them in front of the portal, where they dove in, Ginny still held tightly to Harry's chest while Hedwig gripped tightly on his shoulder. And once more, they found themselves tumbling through the abyss.

* * *

Thanks to Aishwarya, voxenking, the DragonBard, mashimaromadness, Tanydwr, mashimaromadness, W'rkncacnter, Alan Quicksilver, Silver Warrior, Shinigami's Shadow, Andrew Roberts, xRhonwynX, and gaul1 for reviewing!

Q&A

Aishwarya- Awesome. I'm glad I'm good at portraying the characters, even if you've never seen them before.

the DragonBard- I have seen some Slayers episodes, but no Bastard. And I think I might just pick up the manga too, but I'll have to place it farther into the story, to give me some time. But thank you so much for the info.

Tanydwr- Wow, I'd forgotten about Xena and Hercules. That too, can be worked into here, but in an Alternate Reality, not the HP world.

W'rkncacnter- Thanks for that. I'm sorry I messed up on the bow, I haven't fired one in probably six years, and it wasn't a formal instruction.

Alan Quicksilver- This saga will be completed shortly. I already have the basic sketch of the storyline, but I can still add in other worlds if I wish. It's going to be a long, but incredibly fun and (hopefully) imaginative ride. As for H/G stories being more common, I find that a great thing. More converts to the H/G Ship!

Silver Warrior- Glad you decided to give it a whirl. Yeah, I don't think regular crossovers work as well, too many complications and things to smooth over. Harry has gotten better, but he'll get MUCH better before the end. All the stuff he's going to learn and gain… But don't worry, Gin won't be forgotten either, nor will Hedwig. Everyone has a part to play.

Shinigami's Shadow- Of course I am! Gundam Wing A/C… man I love that one. I was hoping to work it in, but I'm unsure as of now.

Andrew Roberts- Err…Well, the Ethereal Tome is a powerful book and (goes on a whole bunch of non-sequitars until you forget the question)

AN: First of, I'm really sorry about how long this took. It will probably be this way for all of the chapters, seeing as how long it is. (over 30 bloody pages!) Well, our time in Inuyasha world is up, unfortunately. Where are we headed next? Well, that my friends, is a secret. Okay fine, one teensy little hint. OOT. If you can get the initials, you'll figure it out. Thanks for reading and please review!


	5. The Land of Time

Disclaimer- I own nothing in this story save the plot and a few of the things within the story. Other than that, I own nothing!

AN: I don't believe it. I can't believe people can pick up that we were going here. Jeez. I'm really obvious. This chapter is shorter than the others, mainly because I'd rather not have you guys wait another two weeks or so to get this done. Also, I felt kind of weird putting an entire temple at the end.

* * *

Chapter 5 The Land of Time

Harry, with Ginny held to his chest tightly, and she responding in kind, with Hedwig gripping his shoulder just as tightly, toppled forward suddenly, coming right out of the void in a portal, before the portal flickered off.

Hedwig screeched and leapt up, indignant at the landing.

"Hey, at least I didn't land headfirst." Harry said, laughing.

"Me neither." Ginny replied, smiling at him.

They realized they were still holding each other, and quickly let go, blushing. Hedwig seemed to be wearing a very un-owl like smirk, and she gave a hoot, signaling they needed to catch they're surroundings.

What they saw terrified them.

The buildings around them were barely standing, looking as if no one had used them in years, and that the last use of them had been for demolition. Many buildings were mere charred shells, while others were heavily damaged, as if a war had come through the town.

The three of them realized they were standing where a massacre, several disasters, famines, plagues, or Merlin-knows-what had happened, several times.

Harry saw movement out of the corner of his eye. "Hey! Wait!" Harry called out, running out towards the shape. As he got closer, the shape turned, and Harry saw whom, or to be more precise, what he was staring at.

What Harry saw made his breath catch in his throat, bile rise within his gut, and scared the bleedin pants off of him.

A terrible creature, a twisted former human being stood there where Harry thought a person was. Its face was skull-like, but there was still rotting red skin covering all of it, save the black teeth it showed, stained with blood, and the rest of the body was cloaked in the same rotting red skin. The head was twisted unnaturally, as if it had been snapped before it came back to life. It shuffled towards him, and let out a terrible scream.

Harry found himself paralyzed by fear and revulsion, a strange fear that froze his body almost literally. It felt like a dementor, but it had a paralyzing, not draining feeling.

It moved towards him, with a slow, shuffling gait, readying its bony hands, more bone showing than skin, making it seem like some sort of grotesque claw. It opened its jaw, and Harry knew it was about to strike.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Ginny was also paralyzed, and Hedwig too, as if they had been captured in a photograph.

Harry couldn't believe that after surviving several attempts on his life by the Dark Lord, Death Eaters, Dementors, Werewolves, demons, and other assorted horrors, he would be eaten by a zombie straight out of a cheesy horror flick he had seen Dudley watch once.

Suddenly, a loud voice called out. "Oy! Ugly!"

Harry couldn't see who had called out, thanks to the paralyzing power of the creature.

The creature turned, and it screamed again. Harry winced internally, knowing that his rescuer was now officially caught. However, much to his amazement, a blur came by a moment later, and leapt right in front of the undead creature, slashing it in half. It toppled apart like rotten meat.

Their rescuer turned, and Harry noticed his sword first. The sword had a deep silvery steel blade, which an intensely blue hilt with a strange symbol of three golden triangles stacked in a triangle shape.

His shield was a deep blue as well, with markings on the shield that looked like a coat-of-arms, burnished and looking quite new.

The next thing he noticed was their rescuer's clothes. He wore a deep forest green tunic, a white under suit that covered the rest of his skin, save his neck and face. His head and hair were mostly obscured by a similarly deep forest green hood, and his hair shined like spun gold. His eyes were a cobalt blue, and he looked at them with a smile. Harry was slightly freaked by the man's ears, which were pointed and long, like Dobby's. However, having hung around with Inuyasha had numbed him to that mostly. His eyes looked younger than they should have been, and something about his attitude seemed reminiscent of a pre-pubescent.

"You two looked like you needed some help." The man said, smiling. "My name's Link."

* * *

After Harry, Ginny, and Hedwig had escaped the paralyzing effects of the ReDead, as Link called it, they introduced themselves and told him about Voldemort. Link explained that he had seen them come out of the sky, out of a black tear that was almost indistinguishable from the black sky. He told them that they were in the land of Hyrule. He had watched them, and decided to help them out. However, he couldn't help with why the area was completely destroyed, or where to find Voldemort.

"Sorry, can't help you there. I kind of just woke up from a seven year nap." Link said, shrugging, but they could tell the long sleep, as well as other things freaked him. But they decided not to push it.

"Link? Who are these people?"

Their green clad rescuer turned, a wary look in his eyes. "Is that you Sheik?" Link asked, "Where are you?"

"Over here."

The three of them turned, and standing there, right behind them, was a man dressed in a blue jumpsuit with tattered white bandages wrapped around his face, obscuring everything except for his red eyes and blonde hair, the same color as Link's.

"This is Harry and Ginny, Sheik. Harry and Ginny, meet Sheik, a Sheikah." Link said, still a little wary of the Sheikah for some reason.

"Hi." Harry said, putting his hand forward, but Sheik ignored it, giving him a suspicious look.

_Someone's a little paranoid. Reminds me of Moody. _Harry looked at the mysterious Sheikah, knowing that there was something off about him. He tried pushing slightly with Legilimency, but Sheik's mental shields were strong. He was definitely keeping something a secret. But Harry decided that he could trust Link, and that if Link trusted the Sheikah, so would he. He'd need all the help he could get to find Voldemort again.

"How did you find them?" Sheik asked, looking at Link.

"Found them about to be undead food. There are a lot of ReDead's around here. I didn't think it would be this bad." Link said, half to himself.

"This is why you need to awaken the Sages, Link." Sheik said, and Harry and Ginny felt as though they were missing something very important. "We should take these two over to Kakariko village, since it's on the way anyways."

"Wait." Harry said forcefully, unwilling to go anywhere until he was sure of a few things. "Did you see anyone strange around here? He looks kind of like a snake, and he came out of a black tear in the sky, just like us."

Sheik's suspicious look turned contemplative, and he crossed his arms, one finger tapping against his shawl. "Now that you mention it, I saw something like that above Gannodorf's castle. I thought it was more Black Magic he was inducing to protect the castle."

"Gannodorf?" Harry asked, wondering if he had stepped into some fairy tale with castles and elves.

"The King of Evil." Sheik said flatly. "He's the one that did all of this, when he took control of Hyrule."

Harry figured Hyrule was the world he was in. "Okay, take me to the castle. The guy I'm after is in there."

Sheik looked at him. "You're not from around here, are you?"

"I think that should be obvious," Harry said dryly, motioning to his and Ginny's t-shirt and jeans, "But yes. We aren't from around here."

"Sheik, you never did say why I shouldn't just go into Gannodorf's castle and kick his ass." Link said, looking suspiciously at the Sheikah.

"Fine." Sheik said. "I'll take you to the castle. Just don't be too freaked out, okay?"

* * *

"Holy Merlin!" Ginny cried out, taking a step back.

Harry had lost his vocal functions already, simply staring open mouthed at the castle.

Link looked shocked and horrified, but an anger and hatred was rebuilding itself within his heart. He couldn't believe Gannodorf had the power to do this!

The once majestic and beautiful Hyrule Castle had turned into a Fortress of Evil, with black battlements, spikes, towers, all exuding a sinister and defiantly dark aura. But that wasn't the most shocking thing.

It was floating.

It was floating hundreds of feet, suspended above a giant lake of lava. There was no way to get to this floating castle, and climbing up to it was impossible. The only thing that could make it there needed wings, and Hedwig wasn't big enough to carry anyone over.

"Now you see the problem?" Sheik asked, a hint of a smirk in his eyes. Harry was sure that if the rest of his face could be seen, the Sheikah would have a smirk to rival Malfoy. Yet there seemed to be pain hidden beneath the surface of those crimson eyes, as if something inside died a little when seeing the castle.

"How in Din's name am I going to get at Gannodorf is he's in there!" Link pointed out angrily, waving his arms in frustration, his golden hair whipping around with him.

"The Seven Sages will get you across, Link. You need to awaken them first, and then you can go after Gannondorf." Sheik replied.

"We'll help him." Harry said, looking at Ginny for confirmation. The red head nodded forcefully, her eyes reminding him of the pact they swore, to be partners against Voldemort. "We need to get into that castle. The man we're after is in there."

"Gannodorf probably killed him already." Sheik said dismissively.

"He can't." Harry replied, an edge to his voice. Ginny wondered how he knew that.

"If you say so." Sheik said, waving his hand in dismissal. "It's up to Link. Do you want to take them along?"

"I could use the help." Link said, sizing up the castle and deciding that perhaps he would need more help than a secretive Sheikah, even if his new allies wore strange clothes and talked funny.

"Then it's agreed." Harry said, putting his hand out to Link. Ginny did the same.

Link looked at the hands, then at their owners. He smiled. "Agreed." He put his hand over their hands, and the pact was sealed.

* * *

"So, where are we off to first?" Harry asked Link, as they, along with Ginny, Hedwig, and Sheik (Who followed like a shadow/stalker).

"Kakariko Village." Link said, and he looked over to where Sheik was lurking. "There's something I apparently need to get first."

"Then let's go boys." Ginny said, smiling, but she winced as the slash that a demon from Inuyasha's world dealt her caused another slight shock of pain.

"Ginny! You're hurt! Why didn't you say something?" Harry said, alarmed and concerned. He grabbed her arm carefully, inspecting it.

"That's a pretty nasty wound. I don't know if I can heal it." Harry said, biting his lip.

"Here. Try this." Sheik called out, and something flashed in the air, before landing in Link's hand. It was a bottle full of a red liquid.

"Drink this." Link said, offering the bottle to the redhead, who offered him a grateful smile, and turned to smile at Sheik, who merely looked blank. She drank it, and as the red liquid poured down her throat, she felt a soothing feeling settle over her hand and she closed her eyes.

"That makes it feel better." Ginny said, a content smile on her face.

"Ginny… You're healed." Harry whispered.

Ginny's eyes snapped open, and she looked open mouthed at her arm, which showed no signs of being injured. "What was that?" Ginny asked in amazement.

"A Red Potion. Standard Healing Potion, cures most wounds effectively." Link replied, smiling at the foreigner's reaction to Hyrulian medicine.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lord Voldemort was having a similar reaction to Gannodorf's Castle, as he was escorted by two skeletal warriors, after he used a few well placed curses to obliterate five of their brethren and one massive, moving piece of medieval armor. Apparently the Killing Curse wouldn't work on things that weren't truly alive, just as it was ineffective against vampires. He demanded to see the ruler of this place, and somehow, the skeletal warriors complied.

Voldemort watched as several more undead warriors, some zombies and some skeletal warriors milled about, guarding the castle. Unlike Naraku's, which was a subtle Darkness, this Darkness was fully in control of this land. Voldemort decided to try his wandering assassin method again, to worm his way into this one's confidence again.

Inwardly, he was annoyed. He had expected to have no other competitors that sought power for Darkness. So far, he had found two others who already had most of the power. Apparently in these two worlds he had been to, those who opposed the Darkness hadn't toppled their foes.

Voldemort found himself wondering exactly how long he had been walking up this red-carpeted stairs. It had seemed like forever. The Forever Stairs, he found himself calling them. This castle would be perfect for him, once he finished off the previous owner.

Finally, he found himself roughly pushed into a throne room. There, sitting, looking bored and somewhat curious, sat the King of Evil, the Darkness, Blight of this world.

He looked impressive, to say the least. Tall and broad-shouldered, he looked strong as an ox, but his burning flames for eyes spoke of calculating malice. His skin was tanned, so much so that it seemed almost green, and his hair was also flame red, crowning his head. His scalp had no hair, making the red hair look all the more like a crown. His clothing was black, and looked more like battle armor than kingly clothes.

Where Naraku had hidden his power, subtle and with deceit, this man's power was as evident as his strength. Present and powerful, undisguised power, constantly shown and shown off. No subtlety here, but rather the charging force of an ox.

"So…" The man drawled, "You are the one who appeared in my castle. That is a trespass, and I could easily have you killed."

"You would not find it so easy." Voldemort hissed, drawing his wand. He knew that those like this man were not subtle or manipulative like Naraku and him, but open and powerful, only impressed by shows of force.

The man raised one dark red eyebrow. "Is that so?" He said softly, getting up of his throne, pulling himself up to his full height and crossing his arms.

"I did not come here to fight. I merely wished to be employed into your service." Voldemort said silkily, his words both pleasing and poison.

"You have shown yourself to be a powerful mage." The man mused, raising one hand to cup his chin. "But I must test your power first!"

And with that, he raised his left hand so that the palm of his hand faced the Dark Lord, and a glowing triangle appeared on the back of his hand, though Voldemort could not see it.

Voldemort raised his wand, preparing himself for combat. Although the man had called it a test, Voldemort knew that a 'test' like this could easily kill someone. The injuries he had sustained from fighting Potter were mostly scrapes, but his magical reserves were slightly strained. This would be a tough fight.

The Dark Lord and the King of Evil were about to clash.

* * *

The red haired man struck first, a black bolt of lightning leaping from his hand and straight towards Voldemort, who leapt aside with a Leaping Spell, before firing off a Killing Curse. No sense in holding back, and 'accidentally' killing the ruler would not impede his plans to take over and gather more power.

However, the man dodged the spell, and, amazingly, he laughed and began rising into the air, smiling evilly. "Lets take this up a notch."

Without warning, more black bolts of lightning flew towards Voldemort, who blocked it with a Protection Spell, the stronger version of the Shield Charm.

Not the least bit concerned, the King of Evil flew higher, and raised his hands, creating a swirling mass of dark and light energy.

Voldemort fired a Killing Curse at the man, determined to kill him while he was charging up for an unknown spell.

The man simply wavered a little, and the jet of green light whizzed past him, striking the wall behind him. He loosed the spell, which shot multiple bolts of light at the Dark Lord, who started up another Protection Spell.

The cobalt colored shield was battered by the assault, and, as the last one struck, it shattered, and Voldemort was thrown back against the wall, hard.

Ignoring the screaming pain from his injury and the previous ones he had suffered, he fired a Concussion Spell, which knocked the king down, and then fired off an Internal Inferno Curse, which would boil the man's blood, quite literally, killing him.

The swirling mass of black that was the Internal Inferno Curse nearly reached him when the king fired off another bolt of lightning, which caught the spell. The two forces met in midair, and the resulting explosion knocked both entities of evil down.

Before Voldemort could get up again, he found the King of Evil standing over him, hand raised with a swirling mass of black on his palm, his armored boot trapping his fallen wand.

As Voldemort glared, panicking internally, the man smirked. "You did well. You might just prove useful." He stepped back, and lowered his hand and removed his foot.

Voldemort growled, and hissed softly, "What if I was to attack you?"

"I'd blast you to pieces." He replied calmly, and then the Dark Lord noticed that the swirling mass of black energy had not gone away on his palm.

Lord Voldemort nodded, and straightened himself. The man looked at him for a moment, before smirking again. "You may call me King Gannodorf Dragmire."

"I am Lord Voldemort, Gannodorf." He hissed softly, not bothering with his title.

The gesture was not lost on Gannodorf, who smirked. "You're certainly more interesting than the incompetents I normally work with. I have a mission for you."

Voldemort nodded slightly. "You wish me to kill someone?"

"I want you to find someone named Zelda and-" Before Gannodorf could finish, a skeletal warrior burst in. "My Lord, the boy has finally stepped out of the Temple of Time."

Gannodorf seemed pleased and annoyed by the intrusion. "Change of plans," He said smoothly, dismissing the skeletal warrior with a nod, "Hunt down the boy. He wears green clothing, and I believe his name is-" The King of Evil thought hard "Link. He should bring the Princess out of hiding."

"Very well. When do I begin?" Voldemort hissed.

"Tomorrow. You set out at dawn. Find the boy, and when he reveals the Princess, bring her to me."

"What should I do with the boy?" Voldemort asked.

"Kill him."

* * *

As Harry, Ginny, Link, and Sheik made there way out of Hyrule Castle, Sheik looked up worriedly, and Link followed his lead. "Shit." Link swore softly, glancing at the falling sun.

"What's wrong?" Ginny asked.

"It's getting dark. When it gets dark, Stalchildren pop up. In large numbers." Link said softly, urging them to move faster with his hands.

Sheik looked concerned. "We'll never make it to Kakariko in time. I guess we could hide out at Lon Lon Ranch, just don't get caught, alright?" He said, as if they were children.

"Sheik, I know Talon and Malon. They're my friends, I don't think they could have changed that much." Link argued.

Sheik gave Link a pitying look with his vermilion eyes. "Don't be so sure. You've been asleep for seven years. That's a long, long time."

* * *

"I'm not going to say I told you so…" Sheik muttered, as Link stared.

"What in the name of the three goddesses happened here…" Link whispered. Lon Lon Ranch looked far worse for the wear, and most of the horses were gone.

"Talon got kicked out. Malon's a servant, and Ingo's in charge." Sheik replied.

Harry and Ginny simply stared. It was obvious the place had once been a wonderful, lively ranch, but now it looked desolate and foreboding. Not that any of the countryside was much better.

Still, it was shelter. Sheik eyed the falling sun with uneasiness. "We'd best hide out somewhere on the ranch."

Still numb, Link nodded, lost within his own world, the world of seven years ago.

* * *

The four of them managed to sneak by, noticing the light up in the house. They moved quickly, Link leading them towards the windmill, where they could get some shelter.

Link, if one looked, was looking lost and slightly afraid, thrown into a new world where the rules, where everything, had changed. It was not an enviable experience.

Still, he seemed to be strong, and fared well. His voice still confident, but shaken, he told them that it was probably best if they holed up in the windmill. The straw would do.

Harry and Ginny removed the backpacks from their pockets and unshrunk them, getting a raised eyebrow from Sheik and a gasp from Link. Still, the Hylians said nothing.

Sheik opted to go outside and rest somewhere else, Link simply plopped down onto the straw, under the open window, and stared into the night sky.

Hedwig took a perch on a niche on the wall, above her master and his friend. She closed her eyes, seemingly resting, not asleep.

Ginny and Harry slept side-by-side, taking comfort in each other's presence in a foreign world. They were all the other had.

* * *

At the crack of dawn (despite Harry's, Link's, and Ginny's protests) Sheik forced them awake and told them to get a move on. After which he promptly disappeared.

Ginny staggered up, looking around blearily. There seemed to be two suns, the regular one and- a blue one?!

Ginny straightened and swatted at the blue light, which cried out in anger, before ramming into the redhead's head. Ginny cried out in pain, which caused Harry to run over and swat aside the light as well.

That simply angered the light, and it hit Harry too, before Link began laughing.

"What's so funny!" Ginny asked dangerously as she blocked the blue light.

"You-swatting-Navi…" Link said, tears of mirth in his eyes.

"What?" Three voices chorused.

"Wait. Who the-" Harry asked, looking around, before the light began speaking.

"Link, where did you pick up these idiots?"

Through her shock, Ginny managed, "We're not idiots!"

"Then why were you swatting me!" The light replied squeakily.

"Sorry guys, this Navi. Navi, this is Harry and Ginny." Link said, cutting in between the almost visible sparks between Navi and Ginny.

Harry hid a smile, thinking Link was a brave man.

"Where did she come from?" Harry asked, as Ginny was too busy glaring at Navi.

"Sorry, she's been with us since yesterday. She's just been sleeping under my hat. She's my fairy partner." Link said, smiling faintly and pointing to his green hat.

"She was sleeping for that entire time?" Harry said incredulously. "What about when you attacked that ReDead?"

"Didn't need her for that." Link said, waving his question off.

Navi huffed, and dive-bombed Link, before retreating into his hat. Link smiled, rubbing his head. "She's a bit temperamental."

Link cried out in pain, presumably Navi pulling on Link's hair. Harry smiled and Ginny giggled, before Link, blushing embarrassedly, said they should get moving.

As Ginny went off to change and Harry gathered up their things, Link looked out at the ranch, occasionally grumbling about Sheikah and their "damn secretive ways".

But his eyes suddenly widened, and he whispered to Harry softly, "Be right back. I need to see something." He kept his gaze on the red headed woman tending the roan mare, almost in disbelief. It had been a long time since he saw his friend Malon.

Harry looked at Link for a moment, considering whether it would be safe to be left alone in a strange land. Deciding that he could trust the Hylian, he nodded, and replied softly, "We'll wait for you at the Ranch Entrance."

"If I'm not able, I'll send Navi to get you in case we need to leave quickly." Link said, deciding that after what Sheik had shown them, it was better to be safe than sorry.

"I'm not sure how Ginny will feel about that, but okay." Harry smiled, putting his shrunken backpack in his pocket.

* * *

Harry and Ginny waited nearby the Lon Lon Ranch Entrance, partially hidden in the shadows. "He's been in there for a long time." Ginny whispered.

"Yeah. He should have been back by now." Harry said, watching the entrance, with one hand on his staff.

A sudden light behind them caused the witch and wizard to spin around, Ginny with her wand raised and Harry with his staff pointed at the light.

"Jeez, you guys are jumpy." Navi muttered.

"Is Link in trouble?" Harry asked.

"No. But he is going to be coming around any-" Navi's sentenced was stopped by the sudden whoop that cut through the air, then the sound of pounding hooves on ground.

"What the-" Ginny said, turning quickly. Both her and Harry's jaws dropped.

Link had come back, but not alone. Now he was riding a beautiful roan colored mare, who seemed to be as equally happy as Link with her new master.

"Where'd you get that?" Ginny asked.

"Epona's not mine. She's just… on loan. Still, it will be nice having her along." Link said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Yeah, except for the part where me and Ginny lack horses." Harry commented.

"True. Still, saves me the trouble of walking." Link said, smirking.

Harry shot him a mock glare, and Ginny giggled. "Alright, let's get going," Link said after a moment, "Or Sheik will come back and start harassing us again."

* * *

They reached Kakariko village quickly enough, with Ginny constantly petting and feeding Epona (which caused a few smiles and laughs from the boys) and Harry mostly looking ahead, Hedwig occasionally perching on his shoulder, or keeping watch overhead.

When they reached the town, Link looked towards the graveyard. "That's where I'm headed, I suppose. Sheik said something about what I needed hidden in a tomb, and I can't think of anywhere else but that graveyard."

Ginny and even Harry seemed a bit hesitant to walk into a graveyard, but they nodded.

When they got into the graveyard, Link seemed to spy a peculiar tomb. On it was a marker, revealing that it was the Royal Tomb. "Hmm…" Link said, seemingly deep in thought.

Harry wondered exactly how Link planned to move the large block, considering he didn't know about Harry and Ginny's magic. Link, after a moment, took out a strange blue instrument, which Ginny recognized as an ocarina. "What are you-" Ginny began, but Link began playing.

It was a soothing, yet regal song, and it made Link close his eyes and remember the Princess Zelda, her face, her eyes, her-

And then the block disappeared, and the entrance to the Royal Tomb was open. "Holy Merlin!" Ginny cried out, jumping back.

"That's new." Harry said, blinking.

Link smirked, and jumped down the hole. Harry and Ginny looked at each other. Hedwig simply flew off, her hoot signifying she was definitely not going into a grave.

"You go." Ginny said.

"Why me! You go!" Harry protested.

"Oh don't be a baby." Ginny said teasingly.

"I bloody hate graveyards…" Harry muttered, before gulping. Steeling himself, trying to push back the rising memories of the Third Task, he jumped in.

Ginny looked hesitant to, and seemed about to lose her nerve, when Harry called out. "Oh come on Gin! I did it!"

Ginny smiled, steeling herself. Then she jumped in afterwards.

* * *

It turned out that she had jumped right on top of Harry, who groaned in pain. "Bloody hell Gin… I didn't think you were that heavy…"

Ginny looked insulted. "Well don't stand right under the entrance!" She replied angrily.

"Sorry… I wanted to see if you were still being hesitant." Harry said.

Ginny growled and glared at the Boy-Who-Lived, who simply gave her a sheepish grin in response.

"Er… Maybe I should just leave?" Link asked.

Ginny and Harry noticed the compromising position they were in, what with Ginny on top of Harry's chest and their limbs tangled up. Quickly, they separated, blushing furiously. "We weren't doing anything!" Harry protested.

Ginny nodded furiously, while checking the bow and arrows Kagome had given her. They were fine, and she smiled. She would have hated to lose the memento from her new friend.

Harry dusted himself off, straightening the loosened belt where he kept the sword of Gryffindor, and checked his staff.

"Alright then, let's go already!" Navi said, coming out of Link's hat.

* * *

It turned out that the tomb was not the one they were looking for. It did however, have a new song for Link, called the Sun Song. Though both Harry and Ginny were skeptic that a mere song and an ocarina could control weather, and when Link explained the song of Time, Time itself, they decided to trust him. After all, a lullaby had allowed them access to the Royal Tomb.

They got out, and Link began walking around, touching the graves, looking pensive. Harry and Ginny walked behind him, sensing he wished to be alone. Link touched one tombstone, however, and it moved. "That's new." Link muttered.

Although both witch and wizard shot him confused looks, he ignored them and pushed harder, forcing the tombstone aside and revealing another hole.

"It looks like a tight fit. I think I'll go down alone." Link said, inspecting the hole.

Although Ginny and Harry were hesitant to leave the Hylian alone, they didn't really want to jump in a grave. So they nodded, and waited outside of the grave for Link.

* * *

Link came back half an hour later, with a device he called a hookshot, that reminded Harry of the grappling hooks he had seen on the telly once or twice. Link, deciding to test out his new device, fired it at the wall. The pointed steel tip of the hookshot stabbed into the rock, and pulled Link forward quickly and almost violently. He barely managed to stop himself from running headfirst into the wall.

After a few more minutes of Link's grumbling through the laughter of the two offworlders, Harry asked, "Where to next?"

"The Lost Woods."

For some reason, probably the creepy name, Harry and Ginny felt a shiver go down their spines.

* * *

Thanks to Andrew Roberts, Shinigami's Shadow, OrionTheHunter, Aishwarya, Lady of Masbolle, Tanydwr, Emma Barrows, highbrass, Dagger1211, Silver Warrior, mashimaromadness, gaul1, firebirdgs, Lady Yueh, rickW22, Harrie, and Spezlee for reviewing!

Q&A

Andrew Roberts- How did you know where we were going? I have the PS2, Game Boy Advance, N64, Super Nintendo, and Nintendo. Lots of Nintendo products!

Shinigami's Shadow- I'm glad your so pleased with my choice.

OrionTheHunter- Well, no technology here, but maybe later…

Aishwarya- Will Harry find a way to overcome the drain of the staff? Well, the staff drains power, and the more power you have, the less it will drain you. I think. Anyways, as for Apparation, that's quite a pickle. How can he master something without instruction?

Lady of Masbolle- Yeah, homework is a pain. Its all right if you leave a short review.

Tanydwr- You cheated?! I'm shocked. Well, that's alright. It seems more people remember or know somehow about the Ocarina of Time. Yeah, most people rush headlong into the H/G, no real pressure or drama in the relationship. Its usually "Hey Ginny, want to be my girlfriend?" That's usually it, and I like it better when it's built up to, which is what will happen here.

Dagger1211- Wow. Lots of people really like FF8. I could do it, provided I get some more info (haven't played the game) hint. Wolf's Rain might not work with how I'm figuring everything however.

Silver Warrior- Indeed. Well, as you can see, yes, we are now in Zelda world! Yu-Gi-Oh is a favorite of mine, but I'm not too sure how to work that in…

firebirdgs- I don't like most crossovers either (most don't make sense), but I did put it in the first chapter. Expect many crossovers.

Lady Yueh- I have a series of places they need to go next. Actually, three of your suggestions (not going to say which!), are already in place. Oh fine, I'll let you in on which ones they are, but you won't see them for a while. CCS, YuYu Hakusho, and Buffy. They're a while off though. Sailor Moon I hadn't thought of (remembers back to when that was the first anime I ever saw…), but I could work it in. Lord of the Rings was something I had thought of as well. Actually, it was in the running for one of the biggest universes I'll show, but it was shot down. It might show up, it might not.

AN: A bit short, but I hope you all enjoyed this place. There might be some of you who have never played the game, so I hope you all enjoyed this and got everything correct. Link, to be stated, has everything you could pick up as a kid Link. He has Farore's Wind and Din's Fire, but he is missing Nayru's Love. Thanks for reading and please, as always, review!


	6. The Phantom Forest

Disclaimer- I don't own the Legend of Zelda or Harry Potter.

AN: These chapters aren't going to be a walkthrough of the temples (no way am I writing any puzzles...) The layouts are going to change a bit. Oh, and I'm thinking of changing the summary, so that it gives just a brief description and then a chapter summary. Let me know what you think!

* * *

Chapter 6 The Phantom Forest

Harry, Ginny, and Link decided to stay the night at Kakariko, as it was too dark to go venturing back into Hyrule field. However, since there was no inn in Kakariko and no spare rooms, the trio was forced to spend the night under the stars. Hedwig perched on a tree above them, like a silent watch.

Link didn't have a sleeping bag, but he chose the grass, remembering the naps he used to take every day, in the Lost Woods. Ginny had quickly fallen asleep, but Harry was still a bit restless.

"Hey, Link?" Harry asked quietly, the green clad elf having his eyes closed.

Without opening his eyes, Link answered. "Yeah Harry?"

"What are the Lost Woods like?" Harry asked, deciding that if he couldn't sleep, doing something productive was the best plan.

"They're dangerous to many people. If you get lost, you'll turn into a Skull Kid." Link said, his eyes opening, staring into the skies and reflecting their twinkle within his sapphire depths, "But if you stick with me, I think I can get you in. Only a few people have ever gotten through."

"So, where are we headed to after that?" Harry asked.

"We'll head over to what Sheik called the temple of the Forest. I think I know where it is." Link answered softly. _Yeah, and the fact that there are no other forests, anywhere, in Hyrule makes it an easy guess. Same with all the others, _he added mentally to himself, thinking Sheik's riddle kind of sucked.

"Are there any safe places in the Lost Woods?"

Link smiled for a moment, reminiscing. "There is the Kokiri village."

"Kokiri?" Harry asked, puzzled.

"It's the village where I'm from," Link said, but now he seemed a little sad, "The Kokiri are eternally young, so it's not as big as Kakariko."

"But, how are you-" Harry inquired, knowing that if Link was from that village there was no way he could have grown up, but Link sighed.

"I don't know."

"Sorry." Harry said, feeling he overstepped his bounds.

"Its fine." Link said, offering a smile. "Why can't you sleep?"

"I don't know. Feeling a little restless." Harry said, touching the hilt of his blade, feeling the cool hilt, letting the memory of Dumbledore presenting him the sword wash over him.

"Where'd you get the sword?" Link asked, eyeing the Sword of Gryffindor curiously.

"This… was a gift from my mentor." Harry said, smiling softly, "He said I was kind of destined for it."

Link seemed to find this amusing, and found a new connection with the wizard. "My sword, the Master Sword," Link said, touching the deep blue hilt on his back, "I was destined for it too. Part of the job as the Hero of Time and all."

"I guess destiny has a habit of choosing people." Harry sighed, feeling that sometimes destiny was unfair.

"Yeah. I didn't ask for the sword, or this task, and I'll be whatever you're destined for, you didn't ask for it either." Link looked into the stars, lost in them.

"You're right. All I really want to do is live my life in peace." Harry said, and Link nodded.

"Exactly."

There was silence again, until Link broke it. "Man, that was pretty heavy." He chuckled.

Harry chuckled too, grinning. "That was pretty heavy, and I'm still not sleepy." Harry felt the weight of his sword for a moment and considered. He didn't have enough instruction on how to use it, and Link looked like he could use the blade pretty well. "Hey Link, do you think you could show me some of your sword moves?"

Link seemed slightly startled, but grinned. "Sure. Let's head away, so we don't wake Ginny or Navi." Link set his hat down, with the sleeping fairy inside.

Harry looked back at the redhead fondly, and nodded. "You sure they'll be alright?" Harry asked.

Link seemed to smirk for a moment, before answering, "Navi will be up if there's any trouble, and we'll be close by." He assured Harry, and the two walked in silence, reaching a secluded area of the village.

Link gripped the hilt of his sword with his left hand and pulled it free, grinning. "Well, I was never really taught how to use a sword, I just kind of make it up on the fly. Why don't you show me some of your moves first?"

Harry nodded, doing the katas that Remus had instructed him in, moving in swift, if slightly mechanical movements.

Link began offering suggestions. "You're a little mechanical. You fight with your head, you're thinking too much. Let it flow out from you."

Harry looked at Link, puzzled. "How?"

Link grinned, pulling his shield free and onto his right hand, and asked Harry to set himself up for a spar. The wizard nodded, readying himself. Link looked at him for a moment, before saying, "Come at me."

Harry seemed startled. "You want me to make the first move?"

"Yeah. Just come at me." Link said, gripping his sword.

Harry rushed Link, slashing forwards. Link leapt backwards and then slashed forwards in one movement, forcing Harry to retreat. "Again." Link ordered.

Harry rushed again, striking with the smooth mechanical ways he used in Inuyasha's world and taught to him by Remus, but again, Link dodged, this time to the side, and slashed forwards again, forcing Harry to retreat.

They continued this dance for a while, Harry rushing, Link easily countering, with Harry, no matter how he changed tactics, unable to break through Link's on the fly defensive maneuvers. Finally, Link dodged another slash by leaping backwards, and leapt into the air, coming at the wizard with a downward slash that knocked the Sword of Gryffindor from his grasp.

"Ouch," Harry muttered, wincing at his hand, which had felt the shockwave of the attack. "How'd you do that?"

"You kept trying to follow a pre-planned pattern, thinking your movements through. That's fine, but you're only using half your force. To get better, you need to learn to modify your style on the fly, to adapt. That's how I survived. Adapt, or die." Link said seriously, wanting to teach the young wizard to survive. "If you only use your head, you'll eventually lose. But if you only use your heart, you could also lose. The trick is to use them both."

Harry seemed to absorb the information, storing it and drilling it into his fighting style.

"Now lets try again."

By the time Link and Harry had finished, Harry had finally managed to disarm Link, using both his head and heart. Link laughed, obviously pleased. "You're a quick learner. I'll be glad to have you at my back." Link said, grinning.

"Me too." Harry agreed, and the two went to sleep at last, having learned more about each other and themselves.

* * *

The group, after a quick breakfast and bath in the stream (with both Link and Harry grumbling about how Ginny forced them out almost a mile away before she began) set off the next morning, ready to face whatever waited in the Lost Woods and the temple within. A few hours before noon they reached the entrance to the Lost Woods.

"Creepy." Ginny muttered, rubbing her arms, looking at the foreboding woods which gave of a feeling ranging from definitely creepy to downright terrifying.

Harry, on the other hand, could feel a familiar, elusive aura emanating from the woods themselves. Something about the very air within the woods seemed… familiar.

"Come on guys. Let's get moving." Link said. "We'll need something to keep you two from getting lost in there. We should leave Epona and Hedwig behind," He added, looking at the roan mare and the snowy white owl.

Hedwig hooted in agreement, seemingly wary of the woods. Epona nuzzled her master's hand, but did nothing else.

"I've got something." Ginny said, pulling out the shrunken backpack and bringing it back to normal size, before reaching in and grabbing a rope, courtesy of Kagome. "This one should work."

Link grinned and tied it around himself, and Ginny and Harry followed suit. Harry still couldn't shake the feeling that he had visited something like this before…

Harry shrugged of the feeling and headed into the woods.

* * *

As the Link, Ginny, Harry, and Navi made their way through the Lost Woods, not lost thanks to Link's guidance and their rope, that strange feeling kept popping up in Harry.

"Hey Link, this doesn't seem all that easy to lose your way." Ginny commented quietly.

Link shook his head. "Normally it twists and turns and you never know where you are. Its naturally chaotic, its just smoother for those who the Great Deku Tree accepted."

"Although you two seem to be keeping a clear head and the path doesn't seem that hard, even with Link guiding you." Navi chipped in.

"That is kind of strange. You sure you've never been here before?" Link asked.

Ginny shook her head, and Harry said no. "But," Harry added, "I get the feeling I've been near something like these woods before. I just don't remember where."

Link scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Any thoughts Navi?" He asked his partner fairy.

"Well, the Lost Woods are more than just a haunted woods. They have hidden doorways to other worlds, endless labyrinths, and are constantly twisting and turning chaotically." Navi recited what all fairies knew about the Lost Woods, their ancestral home.

Harry started at the mention of other worlds. "Doorways to other worlds…" He closed his eyes, before snapping them open. "That's it!" He shouted, and blushed a moment later for his mistake. "They feel like the chaos between worlds."

Ginny seemed thoughtful, and agreed with Harry after a moment.

"Hn." Link said, "Maybe you'd be able to survive without me then. But let's not find out," He added, grinning.

"Lets." Ginny and Harry agreed simultaneously, which caused Link to burst out laughing.

* * *

Eventually, Link, Harry, Ginny, and Navi made their way to the Kokiri village. Link actually stopped in shock. "Monsters… here?" He whispered. In several areas, living shrubs with squid faces walked around menacingly. Definitely monsters. Quickly, he tore off in the direction of a certain house of a green haired girl that had been his only friend for years.

Navi muttered something about idiots, and followed him.

Harry and Ginny looked at each other, as if to say, _We'd better go after him. _

They caught up to Link cutting a plant-shrub-thing that spat seeds at them. He had stopped in front of one house, looking scared and furious at the same time. Just as they got there, he tore off again, trying to find someone to answer his questions.

They finally caught up to Link lifting a young girl clad in green into the air by her collar, with Navi screaming at him to stop, and Link screaming. "Where is she!" He bellowed.

The girl trembled in fear and pointed back into the Lost Woods, but a direction they hadn't gone before. "Saria said something was there, and she went to her secret place. Mido went with her."

Link stopped. The two people he interacted with most, one his best friend, one his childhood bully, were in the Lost Woods. Saria was in the Lost Woods.

"Link!" Harry ordered sharply. "Put her down."

Trembling, Link set the girl down. "Sorry about that," He whispered softly, apologizing with his eyes and his words. The little girl nodded, and left.

"You okay?" Ginny asked concernedly.

"Just… it's a shock, you know, coming back and finding everything changed." Link whispered, before a sarcastic, self-depreciating grin spread across his face, "Suppose that's what's to be expected after seven years."

Link walked towards the Lost Woods, seemingly lost himself, with a concerned Ginny and Harry trailing behind him and a worried Navi.

* * *

Link eventually led them to an entrance where there was a pool of water, some grass, and a little boy dressed up like Link was.

"That's Mido." Navi whispered to Harry and Ginny when they asked her who he was.

"You shall not pass," the boy named Mido growled, "No one but Saria or Saria's friends can get through here."

"Step aside," Link bit back knowing Mido's name.

"You shall not pass!" Mido shouted.

Now, Link was perfectly prepared to beat the hell out of Mido, but somehow, he knew he wouldn't. So how would he get out of- "Saria's song." He whispered to himself.

"What are you-" Harry began, before Link lifted the Ocarina of Time (the name for the blue ocarina he had used earlier, he had told them back in Kakariko) to his lips and began to play a song. A song of deep bond, a deep friendship, a connection, that swirled around them and reminded Harry and Ginny of the friends they had left behind.

The little elf's eyes widened. "That was… Saria's song!"

Link nodded. "Now step aside. You know that that song is only for Saria's friends."

"How did you learn it?" Mido said suspiciously.

"I got it from-" Link changed his mind at the last second, "Link. He knew I'd need that song."

As Harry and Ginny looked on, dumbfounded, Mido bowed and let them pass, whispering to Link, "Please tell Link I'm sorry."

Link swallowed. "Sure." He said shakily, leading his friends into the forest.

* * *

"What was that?" Ginny asked, looking at Link in puzzlement. Harry agreed with the sentiment whole-heartedly.

Link sighed. "Mido, that boy, was a childhood bully of mine. I didn't want him to know it was me."

Harry nodded sympathetically while Ginny contemplated the thought.

"Can we go?" Navi asked impatiently.

"Sure." Link chuckled, leading the group forwards fearlessly and confidently.

Ten seconds later, Harry and Ginny were pressing themselves against the wall, while Link groaned in pain at where he had been bashed into a pool of water by a giant pig with a spear.

"What in Din's name was that!" Link sputtered.

"That would be a Moblin. They're pretty stupid." Navi commented, as the creature turned and left without glancing at Link again. "See? He's already forgotten he attacked you."

Link growled angrily. "I haven't." He grabbed the Master Sword, but Navi added quickly.

"It's also stronger than you, so you're best off using something from long range." Navi said.

Before Link could pull out his hookshot, Ginny fired an arrow at the Moblin, nailing it right between his shoulder blades, causing it to squeal out in pain and topple over.

Harry whistled. "Nice shot Gin."

Ginny blushed, and helped Link out of the pool. "I think we'd better be careful." Link muttered, nursing his bruised ribs. Ginny used a healing spell while Harry peeked out behind the next corner. Sure enough, another Moblin was patrolling nearby.

"Who wants this one?" Harry asked, gripping his staff tightly as he watched the monster turn around.

"Me." Link said through gritted teeth. "Its payback time." He whispered, like a prayer, right before firing his hookshot mechanism straight into the back of the Moblin. It cried out in pain once, squealing, before falling to the floor in pain.

Ginny, Harry, and Link braced themselves for another one of the pig-like creatures to come around to check out what was going on, but nothing happened.

"I don't think you guys get how stupid they are." Navi said, probably (they couldn't see) rolling her eyes.

The three of them ignored her, and walked out cautiously. Harry took out the next Moblin, using a powerful Force Spell to knock it right into the wall with a large bang.

The other Moblins didn't even blink, it seemed.

"Damn, how thick can you get?" Ginny commented as they finished of the last one, before exiting the maze.

"Dunno." Link answered, taking the lead slowly, shield raised. Still, they were prepared to face another Moblin, or whatever else came their way.

Except what was actually there.

"Holy Merlin!" This time, it was Harry making the loud cry of amazement. "That thing's bloody huge!"

'That thing' in question was a giant Moblin, and by gigantic, it nearly filled up the entire alley like clearing, wielding a gigantic club. It stared right at them, and after a moment of breathless silence, Link realized something.

"It doesn't notice us?" Link whispered in amazement.

"Damn, they really are thick." Harry muttered, before concentrating on a spell. Ginny fired off an arrow, which only slashed into a skin deep cut on its shoulder, while Link's hookshot buried itself in its gut, but did little damage as Link pulled it back.

The giant Moblin noticed those blows, and raised its club.

"Scatter!" Link ordered, just before the club landed right where he had been a second ago, causing a large plume of dust to shoot out and shockwaves racing through the earth.

Harry fired off a Stunner, which hit the pig creature right between the eyes, sending it into unconsciousness, and when it hit the floor, it created another shockwave and kicked up more dust. "Another one bites the dust," Harry grinned.

"Show off," Ginny muttered good-naturedly, and slapped his arm.

The foursome made their way up the stairs, and there, at the end of the line, was a meadow.

"That's what's up here?" Ginny asked.

Link seemed disappointed. "This was where Saria always used to go… this is the Sacred Forest Meadow." He paused, and lifted his ocarina to his lips. "Maybe I should try Saria's song."

He played that same song again, one of friendship and connection, and somewhere, Saria heard.

_Link? Is that you? _Her voice came, soft and surprised, still child-like but not with the innocence of a child.

_Yeah, it's me Saria. _Link whispered softly, still playing the song.

_Thank the goddesses, you're alive! _Saria cried out in relief.

_ Saria, where are you? _Link asked, closing his eyes and playing the song still.

_I'm in the Forest Temple Link! I've been captured, but don't try and rescue me. Save yourself! _

Link damn near broke his ocarina when he heard she was captured, and almost stopped playing, which would have broken the connection. _I'm coming for you Saria, don't you worry. _Link assured her, _I'm coming. _He stopped playing before his old friend could protest anymore.

Harry and Ginny and Navi had been watching silently, unsure of what to do. "Saria's been captured." Link managed to say bitterly, "I'm going in there to save her."

"We're coming to." Harry and Ginny said simultaneously. "We made a pact, remember?"

"Thanks." Link said, smiling at them.

"No problem." They chimed in unison, causing Link to laugh out loud. Silence settled over the meadow after that, and Link was about to ask what they should do to find this 'temple of the forest', when a voice rang out.

"You made it."

Four simultaneous shrieks sounded, ringing out through the forest in surprise. "Faore, Naryu, and Din Sheik, don't do that!" Link swore loudly.

Sheik seemed to be smirking, in spite of the fact that they could not see his face. Instead of answering, he began speaking, as if he was reciting a rhyme, a riddle, or words that would become clear in time. "The flow of time is always cruel...Its speed seems different for each person, but no one can change it...A thing that doesn't change with time is a memory of younger days...In order to come back here again, play the Minuet of Forest."

"Okay, in English now." Ginny muttered.

Sheik didn't even respond, but raised a harp up. Link, as if in a trance, raised the deep blue of the Ocarina of Time up in his hands. Together, the two played a melody of deep, echoing stillness, perfect stillness and yet patient growth, of life, of friendship all in one haunting melody. The song of the forest.

Harry, Ginny, and Navi could only stand (or hover, in Navi's case), and listen, closing their eyes and letting the peaceful growth of friendship, of life itself, slowly take them over.

All too soon, the song was over. "That was nice." Ginny whispered in awe.

"Hey Sheik, whose the-" Link began, but instead of answering, the sneaky Sheikah simply grabbed a nut from his pouch. "Link, Harry, Ginny, Navi, I'll see you later." The Sheikah said simply, before raising the nut into the air. Link's eyes widened and he shielded his eyes, but Harry and Ginny weren't too lucky, getting the full blinding flash of a Deku Nut. When the light cleared, Sheik was gone.

"Damned mysterious Sheikah." Link muttered.

* * *

"So… what now?" Harry asked.

"Navi, do you remember anything about a temple?" Link asked the blue fairy.

Navi seemed to turn contemplative for a moment. "I remember something about a temple in this meadow, but the entrance was out of reach." She turned, and flew up towards a large stone opening on the cliff face. "Here it is!" She chirped, "But it's too far."

Link grinned impishly, holding up the hookshot and pointing towards the branch right above the entrance. Turning towards Harry and Ginny, he commented, "I'll send it back to you guys once I'm up there."

Harry grinned mischievously. "No need." He grabbed Ginny's hand and winked at both of them, before disappearing with a crack, the sound of displaced air.

"Holy-" Link began, before Harry's loud bark of laughter behind him startled him out of using his expletive. He turned to see both offworlders standing at the entrance, one looking pleased, one not.

Ginny smacked Harry's arm. "Warn me next time!" She scowled, but Harry's irrepressible grin made it impossible to stay mad at him for a while. At least for her.

"How did you-" Link began again, but Harry answered easily.

"Magic." He supplied simply. It was enough. Link nodded, and raised his hookshot, firing the sharp grappling hook straight into the branch, puncturing the wood, before being pulled roughly up to the branch. He released the lock on the firing mechanism, and dropped down to join them.

Ginny watched impassively, checking her bow, while Harry seemed to be checking a non-existent watch and whistling, bored. "Took you long enough." Harry said mock annoyed, rolling his eyes in exaggeration.

"My way's cooler." Link muttered sullenly, glancing at the ground, before looking up and grinning.

"No way mate." Harry argued, "You looked like you were going to piss yourself on the way up here."

"I was not!"

"Sure you were."

Ginny and Navi exchanged a glance. "Boys." They scoffed in unison, shaking their heads.

"All you did was make a loud cracking noise!"

"Oh yeah, and you simply flying through the air terrified is _so_ much cooler."

"Hyrule is doomed," Navi muttered helplessly, and Ginny giggled, while the boys continued to argue over whose method of travel was cooler.

* * *

The argument over what was cooler was cut short by the drop of two werewolf like creatures, silver furred with blood stained black claws and yellow eyes, their features definitely canine but upright.

As Link blocked a slash from one of them, separating the two creatures as Harry and Ginny tackled the other one, Ginny called out, "What are these things!"

"Wolfos!" Navi supplied, "They're monsters that dwell in the forest!" Link was too busy to reply, as he was avoiding being eviscerated.

Harry blasted the creature back with a powerful Force Spell, while Ginny pierced its shoulder as it got up with an arrow. Before Harry or Ginny could fire off another attack, the Wolfos sprang right for Harry, who narrowly avoided being mauled to death by raising the Sacred Tree Staff up, letting the Wolfos bite into the wood, covering in drool, before Harry managed to throw it off, the staff flying into the grass. Harry unsheathed the Sword of Gryffindor as Ginny fired off a Stunning Spell, but the Wolfos loped towards them, avoiding it narrowly.

Harry stepped in front of the Wolfos and slashed at it, and the creature jumped backwards, letting Ginny fire a Disarming Charm at it, sending the Wolfos flying into the wall. Before it could rise, Harry rammed his sword into its chest, transfixing it there.

He stood in shock for a moment. He had actually taken a creature's life. Before, he had been fighting demons and Voldemort. With demons, he could do it maybe, and Voldemort was required, but the shock of his first kill was rapidly soaking into him.

"Harry?" Ginny asked, but Link touched her shoulder and shushed her.

She turned towards him, looking confused. "You haven't given that Moblin you took down much thought, but Harry's coming down with the realization he just killed something." Link whispered. "I remember my first time. Took me a little bit to come to grips with it."

"But it's a monster." Ginny said stubbornly.

"I know. It's an evil creature imported from the depths of Dark World, but Harry doesn't understand that." Link said softly. "Let me talk to him."

Ginny nodded, and the green clad elf walked over to Harry slowly, surely.

"You okay?" Link asked.

"I just killed something, how do you think I feel?" Harry said bitterly.

"Harry, I remember my first kill. I went through the same thing. But Harry, you can't let it get to you. These creatures are evil. They aren't from this world, and they would have killed you and me and Ginny without a second thought." Link consoled.

"But I don't want to kill them." Harry said quietly, looking at the ground.

"Evil needs to be fought Harry. To kill those Wolfos, to kill anything Evil, that isn't unjust. You're helping society, helping people live without those terrors. You are killing something evil so that it can't harm anyone else and no one else has to do it." Link remembered the day Navi told him those words, consoling him.

Harry found that the words resounded into the core of his confusion on the prophecy. If he didn't kill Voldemort, then Voldemort would not just kill him, but everyone he cared about. That could not be allowed to happen. "Thanks." Harry managed to say, blinking.

"No problem. Now come on." Link grasped Harry's shoulder, and the two of them went back over to where Ginny was waiting and smiling.

* * *

Molly Weasley glanced at the clock. Unlike muggle clocks, hers had a more practical use than telling time. They told her the whereabouts and condition of her family.

She glanced at four hands on the clock, pointing to work. If the twin's joke shop could be called work, anyway. The other two were Arthur and Percy, her prodigal son.

Molly wished Percy would come back home, deeply, but it paled in comparison to another yearn in her heart. That yearn came from two other hands on the clock, pointing towards lost, sometimes shifting to mortal peril.

The two hands in question were her youngest daughter's hand on the clock, and Harry Potter's hand.

She remembered how happy they had all been, that fateful night, before they disappeared. Molly remembered the shocked, stammering face of the Boy-Who-Lived, blushing as he accepted her gift, the gift that symbolized something Molly had always wanted to say, and hoped Harry knew. That Harry Potter was as much a Weasley as if Molly had birthed him herself. She loved that child, as much as she loved any of her children.

It all came back to that first day, September 1st, 1991. The day she first saw the Boy-Who-Lived. She didn't know, of course. He was always a mysterious, confident boy in her mind, powerful and wise as Dumbledore. The truth was far more different, and something she found much more endearing.

She met a stuttering, scared little boy, all alone in the world, with no one to hold his hand and help him find his way, to tell him good luck and hug him and to let him know he was loved. She had taken him into her heart that day, and it only grew when she learned more and more about his life. Besides being an orphan, he grew up unloved, in a cupboard of all things, nearly starved and driven to slave labor at age six. Horrible things that no childhood should have.

And yet he rose out of those challenges, untouched, untainted, still able to be innocent that day, still able to be brave and fight against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Amazing.

Molly had every confidence that Ginny would be safe with Harry. It was Harry who defied death, defeated a Basilisk and the sixteen year old form of You-Know-Who with nothing a sword and a basilisk fang, who brought Ginny back when no one else dared to. Maybe it would even be good for both of them…

A thought cut through that idea, slicing through it as easily as a Dementor, making a chill run down her spine and the fear rise up again like a leviathan from the depths.

_If they survive. _

She prayed that Harry would pull off another miracle and bring him and her daughter back home again. That, and watching over the remnants of her family, was all she could do.

* * *

"So what now?" Ginny asked, looking around. She pointed towards the door. "There's the next room, let's go."

Unfortunately, it turned out that it was locked. "Well, that's just great," Ginny muttered sarcastically, pulling out her wand and saying, "Alohamora!"

The door didn't budge an inch when she tried to move it. Frustrated, she kicked the door sullenly, much like a petulant child. "Maybe we should blast it down?" Ginny said, glaring at the door.

"Wait." Link said, noticing a slight glare out of the corner of his eye. "There's something up there." He pointed up to a large natural alcove made of branches.

"And how do you propose to reach it?" Harry asked, "Its kind of high, and your hookshot can't latch onto anything. Better let me do it."

With a loud crack, Harry Apparated onto the alcove, and appeared in front of a large treasure chest, just like in the movies. "Hey, does anyone want to tell me how a treasure chest got here?" Harry asked in amazement.

"Don't ask," Link answered, cupping his hands over his mouth, "I found a torch inside of a giant tree, as well as treasure chests."

Harry looked at him in consternation for a moment, before shaking his head and passing it off as just how this world was. After a few moments of attempting to use his hands to open it, he kicked it open roughly. He pulled out a large, shiny silver key. "Shiny." Harry grinned, before Apparating back down towards them.

Link yawned, and checked his watch in an imitation of Harry. "Took you long enough," He mocked.

Harry mock glared at him, before the two of them burst out into laughter, walking towards the entrance, while Ginny and Navi looked at each other. "Boys." They snorted.

* * *

The group made their way into a long hallway in silence, until a gigantic and strange looking skull/spider like creature descended down, right in front of them.

"Sweet Merlin!" Ginny yelled, stumbling backwards with the others. She grabbed her bow and Harry scrambled for his staff when the creature gave a loud cry of agony and fell to the floor, dead.

Link had shot it with his hookshot. "I hate spiders," He muttered, rubbing his hands together unconsciously.

Ginny giggled as Harry studied the creature, trying to use it to distract himself from laughing. "Let's go," Navi ordered impatiently.

The foursome came into a new room, where a platform that looked suspiciously like a lift sat, with four torches, one at each corner. "I feel something down there, Link..." Navi whispered quietly.

"That looks like a lift... maybe it can take us down below?" Harry guessed.

"That looks a little too easy..." Link said slowly, softly, shaking his head.

He was correct in his assessment as four child-size creatures, each of them hooded and cloaked, one green, one purple, one blue, and one red, floated towards the torches.

"What in Din's name-" Link breathed, grabbing the Master Sword.

"Its a Poe..." Navi whispered, "An evil ghost... I think these are the Poe sisters."

"Can I kill 'em?" Link asked, eyeing them warily as the four Poes moved ever closer to the torches.

"Yeah." Navi said quietly as they touched the torches.

"Good." Link said, gritting his teeth and lashing out the Master Sword from its sheath, causing Harry to point his staff at them and Ginny to nock an arrow into her bow, aiming it at the Poes, but the sister phantoms simply grabbed the torches, one per ghost, and took them away, before vanishing into the blackness.

Ginny approached and touched the lift carefully, but it didn't budge. She shook her head.

"Damn." Link swore. "I hate it when I'm right."

* * *

"So... where to first boys?" Ginny asked, looking around the room. Besides the lift, there was an open doorway right in front of them, a solid blue block on the western side, and a locked door.

"Should we split up?" Harry asked, looking around the creepy looking temple nervously.

"Its better if we stick together," Navi chirped, "Less chances of dying."

The two offworlders gulped, and tightened their grips on their respective weapons while Link chuckled. "Let's head forward first. The open doorways are always the easiest." Link said, and the foursome made their way into the doorway.

When they got inside, as absurd as it was, a skull with bat wings and blue fire engulfing its skull flew towards them.

"Dear Merlin! Are all your enemies this weird?" Ginny asked incredulously, leaping backwards.

"I think Ganondorf got a bit bored!" Link answered, raising his shield. Stupidly, the skull ran right into it, and the flames promptly disappeared and it fell to the floor. "Okay... that was pathetic." Link muttered, rolling his eyes.

Then the skull started hopping around, and bit him on the foot.

"SON OF A-"

Link's expletive was drowned out as Harry and Ginny toppled over, in an uproar of laughter, with Navi giggling and her blue light shining brighter than ever, before she fell to the floor, rolling around like a tiny spark of moving light. Link viciously stomped on the skull a few dozen too many times to be necessary, and glared at them. "Oh ha, ha, lets all make fun of Link now," He muttered sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

The foursome arrived in the next room, and it was empty. "No enemies?" Harry asked, looking around in confusion. Every room had enemies so far.

As if to answer his question, two skeletal warriors burnishing a rusted round shield and wavy sword each were spat out of the ground like a bad piece of food. Each of them had glowing red eyes that burned with supernatural fury and undiluted hatred.

Impossibly fast for things without muscles, the first one jumped and dive-bombed Link in midair, causing the Hero of Time to dodge to the side with ease, but the creature moved again with impossibly fast reflexes, right after him.

"No enemies!" Link mocked, still able to do so as he blocked a powerful blow from the undead warrior.

Harry was unable to retort as he found himself similarly avoiding being skewered, as Ginny's arrow was deflected by the skeleton's rusted, but still usable shield.

"Navi? What are these things?" Link gritted out, having caught the Master Sword and his opponent's sword in a block and a stalemate.

"Stalfos! Be careful, these things are a lot stronger and smarter than a Moblin!" Navi chirped worriedly.

Harry fired a Force Spell that was blocked by the Stalfos, and Ginny's arrow met a similar fate. However, Harry's spell had sent it backwards, allowing him to draw his sword, which was better suited for this quick, nimble opponent.

Link avoided another slash from the Stalfos, and decided that a swordfight would last a lot longer, unless he cheated. So, when the undead warrior's attack was parried, he grabbed a Deku Nut and slammed it right in front of the Stalfos. Before the light even cleared, Link skewered the skeletal warrior in its chest cavity, and it collapsed into dust.

Harry, meanwhile, had a stalemate with the Stalfos, each eying (if the undead could) each other warily, waiting for the time to strike, while Ginny waited patiently for her time to strike as well. Harry was injured and more tired than the undead was, if the undead could tire, and had taken considerably more blows than his opposite number.

Finally, the skeletal warrior leapt right for him, holding his blade high in the air in a manner similar to Link's the previous night. Harry let Link's words pass over him once more with this memory... _To get better, you need to learn to modify your style on the fly, to adapt. That's how I survived. Adapt, or die_

"Adapt or die,"Harry whispered, and, letting instinct guide him, he rolled forward and avoided the blow. A loud whistling noise and a subsequent clang of fast metal on solid metal told him Ginny had fired again and had been foiled. Quickly, Harry slashed forward, and cut off part of the skeleton's ribs before the creature retreated.

Glaring at him, the skeleton slashed at him once, twice, thrice, but Harry avoided the first, blocked the second, and parried the third, and lashed out with a bit of wandless magic, namely a Banishing Charm, to send it flying away, and Harry wandlessly summoned his staff and fired an Incendio at the Stalfos before it could even touch the ground.

The charred hulk of the Stalfos fell to the earth, touched it, and then disintegrated. "Well, that was easy." Link muttered, rubbing his sore arms. "There's nothing in here..."

As if Fate itself wanted to disprove him, a treasure chest appeared out of thin air.

"Okay, how in the hell does that keep happening?" Ginny demanded, and Harry shook his head in disbelief as Link kicked the treasure chest open and pulled out another silver key.

"Looks like that locked door isn't going to be locked anymore." Link declared, holding the key high up in the air.

"Don't do that," Navi muttered, "You're embarrassing me."

* * *

As the foursome made their way back into the big room with the lift, Link seemed drawn towards the blue block in the northwest alcove of the room. "That color... it reminds me of something..." Link muttered, rubbing his head as he stepped closer.

"It kind of looks like the color of the ocarina." Harry commented, studying the block curiously.

"The ocarina?" Link's eyes widened, and he lifted up the Ocarina of Time from his pouch slowly and carefully, remembering how precious a gift it was from Princess Zelda (any gift would have been precious to him from her), and put it to his lips and began to play.

This time, the song was echoing, long, haunting, wearying, rejuvenating, replenishing, ageless, its notes stretching from the bowels of the Beginning to the endless reaches of Eternity. It was patient, slow, and yet each note seemed to slip by like water in their fingers, swift and timeless. The Song of Time.

In front of them, the blue block disappeared in a flash of light. "Maybe Dumbledore was right..." Harry muttered to himself, remembering his mentor's words during his first year about music.

The four of them pushed onwards down the now opened passageway. Inside, they killed off more of the spider creatures, called Skulltula, then Harry Apparated Link, and then Ginny up onto the ledge above them. Another one of those flying flaming blue skulls attacked, and Link shattered it with his hookshot. They fought a giant plant as well, going farther down, and then Link used his hookshot (because he wanted to use it for something other than killing) and went over to another balcony, and hit a switch. Down below, a level below them, a well drained of water.

"So... who wants to jump first?" Link asked warily, eying the wet stone floor a good drop down. He slowly raised his hand, saying, "Not me."

"Or... we could use magic." Harry interrupted.

Link flushed and nodded at them. Harry cast a Feather Fall Charm on him and Link, and Ginny did the same for herself. The three of them jumped down, with Navi floating behind them, her tiny wings capable of flight.

The foursome quickly made their way down a hallway and up a flight of stairs into a new room. There, three more Stalfos popped up, each just as the previous ones had been, with rusted shields and wavy swords and hellish eyes and a sadistic grin.

Harry tangled with one of the Stalfos, while Ginny fired spell after spell at another, and Link dealt with the last one.

Harry finished his off with another round of wandless magic, just like before, and used the Sword of Gryffindor to skewer it to the ground. Ginny managed to light her opponent ablaze with an Incendio spell, and Link slashed his Stalfos' head off.

As if to reward them, a treasure chest appeared, just like before. Inside, Link found a finely crafted wooden bow. "That's our reward?" Link asked skeptically. "I nearly got killed over this?"

"_We_ almost got killed over this." Harry butted in.

"Still, a weapon's a weapon." Link shrugged, and took it, along with a quiver of arrows that lay inside. "Wonder why it's here though..."

* * *

The foursome made their way back into the stairwell, which went up a few flights higher. However, Link felt a sudden chill when he glanced at a portrait at the end of the hall.

On it, that red ghost he had seen back in the main chamber glared at him evilly with its eerie eyes. Link, deciding to test his aim with a bow and arrow (only having ever used a slingshot before), raised it, and before anyone could say anything, he fired an arrow at it.

As if reacting to the arrow, the ghost inside screeched and disappeared.

"Okay... call me crazy... but did that portrait just move?" Link asked.

"If you are, then we all are." Harry retorted, rubbing his eyes. Although commonplace in his world, he doubted moving portraits existed anywhere else.

"I think... that the red Poe Sister lives in those paintings. To get her out, you should keep doing that." Navi commented, bobbing up and down uncertainly.

"Sure." Link said, "I could use some more target practice."

After two more shots at two different paintings, the red Poe Sister charged out of her painting and straight for them. Link quickly sliced her into pieces, if ghosts could be put into those terms.

"One down." Link said happily, as a fire began to rise out of the Poe, before disappearing into thin air.

"That looked like one of the torch lights..." Ginny commented.

"Guess we need to kill the other Poes..." Link muttered, his eyes studying the floor, before looking up. "Do you think ghosts can be killed?"

Ginny and Harry looked at him dumbfounded. Navi just rolled her eyes and hit him on the head. "Idiot." The fairy muttered, mostly to herself.

* * *

The foursome made their way up the flight of stairs, until they reached a locked door. Link opened it with a key, and they made their way into a second chamber.

This time, it was Ginny (who insisted on helping out) who repeated the process of shoot the ghost, go to the next painting, shoot again, etc. Finally, the blue ghost screamed in anger and rushed out at her, but Harry cut her down with a powerful Incendio spell.

As they watched the second flame disappear from there, a treasure chest appeared out of thin air, but by this time, none of the four really wanted to make a comment. Link pulled out another key, and the foursome was on their way once more. They opened another locked door, and they found themselves in a room straight out of Alice in Wonderland, or at least that's what Harry thought.

The room defied the laws of physics blatantly. It was twisted. Literally. The walls, the angles, everything was skewed and turned and topsy turvy.

"Okay... that's new." Ginny blinked. Harry simply looked on open mouthed, while Link seemed to struggle to sum up how he felt about the room. Still, they needed to press on.

The doorway was on the ceiling, however, and there was no other path. "Damn... what now..." Harry muttered, frustrated.

Link, however, knew how these accursed places worked. He looked around for a switch, something to... and then he spotted it. Right above (or below, depending on your viewpoint) the doorway's entrance, was a single eye in a silver diamond. Link fired an arrow at it, and was rewarded when the room shifted on its axis, until the doorway was placed right in front of them.

"Merlin. Hogwarts has got nothing on this..." Ginny commented breathlessly to Harry, who had to agree.

What they had not noticed, however, too busy gaping at the blatant disregard for the laws of physics, was that there was a very fancy treasure chest where the ceiling once was, and now it was in front of them. "Well, at least it didn't appear out of thin air..." Link shrugged, and kicked it open.

"Why do you always kick it open" Harry asked curiously.

"Dunno." Link shrugged. "Guess I just want to emphasize the fact that I'm tall enough now to actually kick them, instead of opening them and clambering inside."

"Yeah, you were pretty puny back then." Navi quipped.

"Shut up Navi." Link shot back, scowling, but his tone was teasing.

Inside, they found a very ornate key with a skull and horns on top of its head. "Okay... well that's cheery." Link muttered, pocketing the key. "Must be important."

The four of them made their way down the newly righted hall quickly, sensing that the end would be soon. Inside, they found another portrait of a ghost, but this time, the green one simply rushed out at them and attacked, lashing out with its tiny but sharp claws, its lack of ties with most of the laws of physics allowing it to move speedily and with great agility, making the battle long and difficult for the Link, Harry, and Ginny.

Finally, Link's slashes, Harry's spells, and Ginny's arrows brought the green Poe down for the count, and she disappeared in a scream, as her flame disappeared as well.

Her portrait disappeared, and behind it, there was an open door. "I'm just no going to comment anymore about how stuff disappears and appears," Harry muttered, walking through the doorway, shaking his head. "This world is just too weird."

"Poor Harry, trying to follow the laws of nature." Ginny comforted him mockingly, patting his shoulder condescendingly.

Harry mock glared at Ginny, as Link gave a bark of laughter, before he stopped cold. "Hey, sorry to interrupt this flirting session but... this room looking a little familiar?"

Before Harry and Ginny could protest, they noticed it too. They were right back in the main room. "Well... where's that last Poe?" Ginny asked.

In an answer to her question, the final ghost, the purple Poe Sister appeared in front of them, glaring at them with all the hatred her undead eyes could muster. It was obvious she was pissed off about that whole deal about killing her sisters, or whatever you do when you re-kill a ghost.

Before Link, Harry, and Ginny could bring her down like the last one, she began spinning around them rapidly, too fast for the eye to see, making them see multiples of her and then get very dizzy.

When she stopped, however, each of them rubbed their eyes in disbelief. Were there was once one purple Poe Sister, there was now four.

"They can't all be real... right?" Harry managed weakly.

"Let's hope so." Link muttered darkly, grabbing his bow and an arrow and stretching the bowstring taught, "Let's hope so."

* * *

The four purple ghosts began cackling and swinging down at them, slashing with their ghostly claws, which, as Link discovered, really, really stung. He gave a low hiss of pain, and fired an arrow at one of them, but it passed right through. An illusion.

"Looks like they aren't all real," Link muttered, dodging another swoop by one of the ghosts, not willing to take the chance at getting slashed again.

Harry groaned as his Force Spell passed through one of the illusions too, but Ginny managed to hit the correct one, which screeched in pain, before slashing at the redhead, who was forced to drop her bow and roll aside. Before she could grab it, the real one swooped down on her again.

This time, Harry's Force Spell didn't miss, and sent the ghost flying through the air. Two arrows from Link later, the last Poe Sister was going to the Great Beyond.

The lift seemed to groan alive again as the four flames danced on their respective torches. "Well, let's get down people." Link grinned, causing Harry, Ginny, and Navi to roll their eyes, but they complied and the four of them stepped onto the lift, which gave a loud groan and a shudder, before beginning its descent down into the darkness.

* * *

When the lift finally stopped, the four of them found themselves in a pretty bare room with only one door. Unfortunately, it was barred by iron bars that looked a lot stronger than anything they had seen before.

"Our magic doesn't seem to work on the locks here..." Ginny muttered.

Harry fired a Force Spell at the door, which shuddered under the impact, but didn't budge an inch. "Nor does trying to force our way in." Harry added wryly.

"Well, that's just great." Link muttered, scanning the room for five minutes before finding nothing that could help them continue on. Images of a destroyed Hyrule passed back through the Hero of Time's mind, and he growled in frustration. He couldn't stop Ganondorf back then, and he still couldn't now, it seemed. He was failing everyone, he was failing Saria, and he was failing Zelda. "Damn it!" Link swore, punching the wall.

And strangely enough, the wall sank under the force of his blow, even just a little. Suddenly, the wall in front of them, the one with the barred door, turned.

Harry opened his mouth, but closed it, shaking his head. "I don't even understand how that works..." Harry muttered to himself.

After another three pushes on the switch, an open doorway lay in front of them. "Why didn't they just disable that..." Harry muttered to himself once more.

"Don't ask." Link said wryly, grinning at him.

They made their way down a carpeted hallway, which ended with a large, foreboding doorway with a gigantic golden lock on it. "Think that scary key would work?" Link asked rhetorically, shoving the key into the hole and twisting it. The door groaned for a moment in protest, but then swung open, and invite into darkness.

"And into the darkness we go," Link muttered to himself. "Yippee."

* * *

The three warriors made their way into the room, Link in the lead, Harry and Ginny covering his right and left flanks, respectively. They were cautious. This was the room that the puzzles and monsters had tried hard to keep them away from.

Whatever was in here was either really important, or really dangerous. "Hey Link… I got a bad feeling about this." Navi whispered, bobbing up and down.

Link's face wore a sarcastic half-grin on it. "Well, we've beaten all the puzzles. That means something really dangerous is in here."

Harry and Ginny simultaneously gulped, and both grabbed their respective weapons instinctively.

The three came into a large, spacious room with the only thing of notice were the three identical paintings of a creepy looking woods that led up to a spooky mansion/castle under a moonlit sky.

"Definitely something bad…." Link muttered, grabbing the Master Sword so tightly his knuckles went white. He turned towards the others. "Weapons out."

Harry gripped his staff, and Ginny removed her bow and placed it pointing downwards.

Suddenly, a loud laughter was heard, echoing throughout the room like a giant's laugh.

"Oh shit…" Link muttered, cobalt eyes flying wide and stepping back instinctively. He heard that laugh before. "Ganondorf." He whispered.

"Isn't that-" Ginny started, before an apparition appeared directly in front of them. All three of them lifted their weapons, Harry pointing his staff, Ginny raising her bow and placing an arrow on it, stretching the material tightly, and Link raised the Master Sword.

A man appeared, with dark skin almost green, crimson hair crowning his skull, tall, broad-shouldered, powerful looking. His horse was there as well, a nightmarish horse, black and looking just as powerful as its master, and just as cruel and vicious. Both horse and man wore armor, and their eyes were murderous pools of hellfire. Both master and horse were same way Link had dreamed and saw seven years ago.

It was Ganondorf Dragmire in all his unholy glory. Grinning, the man raised his hand high into the air, and Harry quickly prepared himself to cast a Shield Charm, and Link tightened his hold on his shield.

Instead of a spell, a flash of light appeared, and then a charcoal colored staff appeared in Ganondorf's hand, its triple bladed tip gleaming. The horse neighed, ready to help its master crush them. Ganondorf expertly spun the staff around, before resting, the triple bladed tip pointing right at the three warriors and the fairy.

As if things couldn't get any worse, gleaming spikes, like the teeth of the floor itself, shot up in front of the entryway, effectively trapping them within the room.

"Definitely something bad." Link muttered again, whipping the air with the Master Sword, readying himself for combat.

* * *

Harry raised a Shield Charm just as a blast of light flew from the staff of Ganondorf, and luckily for them, the shield held, although it shook and gave a loud cry of protest, akin to blades striking each other.

"Scatter!" Link barked, as a second blast of lightning streaked across the room towards them, cleaving the air.

Link rolled forward, while Harry leapt to the left, Ginny to the right. Navi flew right for Ganondorf, and as she reached him, she gasped in surprise. "Its not Ganondorf!" She declared as Link dodged another blast of lightning.

While Ganondorf fired a bolt of lightning at Ginny, who threw herself to one side, narrowly avoiding getting hit, Link answered. "What in Din's name do you mean!"

Harry managed to cast a Shield Charm and block the next lightning blast towards Ginny by stepping in front of her before casting his shield, the redhead having been slow in getting up.

"I mean," Navi yelled, wobbling in the air, "That it's a ghost version of Ganondorf."

Link's eyes widened and he dodge rolled another blast of lightning. "A ghost Ganondorf?" He said incredulously, staring at the-apparently- ghost version of his nemesis.

The ghost in question began laughing, that same cold, deep as the abyss laugh that the true Ganondorf had. "Nice work fairy. I had forgotten your blasted kind could see through illusions," He growled, "I am indeed not the real Ganondorf. I am Phantom Ganon, sent here to keep the Forest Temple sealed!"

Then the phantom did something unexpected. He grabbed his face and pulled brutally. Much to their horror, the face came off, a mask, and revealed a darkened skull face with the same hellfire eyes, but something new was there. Something Link had failed to notice the first time he looked at the phantom. The eyes were the same color, but lacking the vitality, the living hatred, the living fire Ganondorf possessed.

It was indeed a Phantom Ganon.

"Now prepare to become part of my kind!" Phantom Ganon shouted, raising his staff high into the air, and the four prepared themselves for the worst.

* * *

However, Phantom Ganon did the strangest and most unexpected thing.

He turned around and ran like a coward, straight into the paintings.

"Sweet Merlin, he can do that!" Ginny cried out incredulously.

"Apparently," Harry quipped again, grinning impishly despite the situation. Ginny rolled her eyes, and Link grinned.

"Looks like its time to relive killing the Poe Sisters..." Link muttered, grabbing his bow and aiming it at one of the spooky portraits, while Harry and Ginny followed his aim. The tiny figure of Phantom Ganon grew larger and larger, but before it left the painting, it spun around and turned on its heel.

"Oh-" That was all Ginny could manage before a blast of lightning nearly toasted her hair, and only her sudden shift in position had saved her.

"Okay. Each of us covers one painting, got it?" Link ordered briskly, aiming his bow at the center one.

Harry and Ginny nodded, taking up the right and left flanks respectively, aiming them carefully, waiting for the real snake in the grass to appear.

The real Phantom Ganon came through Ginny's portrait, and was promptly shot at by her arrow, but his horse took the blow instead of him. The phantom glared at her as his horse stumbled in midair, before collapsing to the ground and disappearing. Unfortunately, Phantom Ganon had not fallen with his horse.

* * *

"Holy crap, he can fly!" Link swore incredulously, ducking his head as the laughing Phantom Ganon sped across the air.

"Apparently," Harry answered dryly, before Navi could say the same thing. He fired a Force Spell, sending a powerful blast of air right at Phantom Ganon, who smacked the attack aside.

Ginny fired an arrow, which had the same fate as Harry's Force Spell.

"Okay, any ideas?" Ginny yelled as she fired another arrow at the phantom as it ran by, laughing and forcing her to leap aside as another lightning bolt flew at her.

"We kick its ass!" Link shot back, jumping back as Phantom Ganon charged towards him.

"How!" Harry asked incredulously as his Incedio Spell was knocked aside too.

"Damned if I know." Link yelled, before a powerful bolt of lightning forced him to jump back. Which was exactly what Phantom Ganon wanted, revealed when a second blast of lightning almost followed instantly after the first one, cleaving through the air and about to strike the Hero of Time.

Link swore, and, out of instinct, swung his blade protectively. When in doubt, hit something, was his motto on anything Ganondorf came up with. It had saved him before, and it would do so again.

Miraculously, when the Master Sword struck the lightning, said lightning rebounded back, right towards Phantom Ganon.

The phantom's eyes widened in surprise, right before the lightning nailed him in the chest and sent him flying straight into the wall, right off his high horse.

The phantom, though not truly present in the physical world, gasped in pain before he slid down realistically to the floor from the wall.

Harry and Ginny stared at Link in shock, the Hero of Time staring at the Master Sword in shock.

There was only one word for such a situation.

"Holy shit!"

Two words, actually.

* * *

"Er…" Those were the only words Link managed to say before an enraged Phantom Ganon unleashed another lightning bolt at Link, disrupting the momentary stillness of shock.

"Navi?" Link asked, as Phantom Ganon fired more lightning at his friends, who blocked with their own brand of magic. "What in the Three goddesses names just happened?"

"To quote you, 'damned if I know.'" Navi chirped.

Link rolled his eyes. "Thanks." He muttered, before taking a big chance, specifically the chance of living for the next five minutes, by stepping in front of his friends and taunting Phantom Ganon.

After the second questioning of why Ganondorf _really _wanted a reflection of himself, Ginny whispered incredulously, "What the hell are you doing!"

"Baiting him." Link said, barely moving his lips and not turning towards the two offworlders.

Navi drifted to them. "Just don't ask. I don't know how he's survived this long." She muttered.

Link ignored them, still baiting the phantom.

Why he was baiting him became apparent when an enraged Phantom Ganon launched a burst of lightning, which, as before, was sent flying back at him by Link and the Master Sword. Phantom Ganon's face would be forever etched in Link's mind, the skull looking on in shock once more.

Link wanted to make that face last in his mind, until the day that same look of shock was etched on the real Ganondorf's face as he died by Link's hand.

* * *

Harry blocked a powerful bolt of lightning with his Shield Charm, causing a loud screech of protest from his shield and a flash of light to nearly blind him.

Next to him, Ginny fired off an arrow, even if it was futile, she would still try. After all, she had brought down the horse.

Link avoided two more bursts of lightning, unable to swing his sword fast enough. It seemed Phantom Ganon had learned.

However, he eventually slipped up as the combined resistance of Harry's magic that protected them, Link's agility, and Ginny's constant arrow harassment made Phantom Ganon fire a powerful bolt of lightning right for Ginny, which Link easily smashed back at him.

The ball of light slammed into his chest, and the phantom was sent flying into the wall, unmoving for the moment. Link knew that this was his best chance, and began running towards the phantom, but the stirrings of Phantom Ganon forced Link to realize he'd never make it in time.

However, he hadn't counted on an extra burst of speed, courtesy of Harry's Leaping Spell, he turned to see the grinning wizard give him a thumbs up, and he grinned at him, before turning back towards his target.

Before Phantom Ganon could rise, Link ran the Master Sword right into his chest, straight into where his black heart would have been.

The phantom twitched once, before lying still.

The Forest Temple was free.

* * *

Link removed the Master Sword from the phantom's chest, vowing that the Master Sword would pierce the real Ganondorf's heart someday soon.

Very soon.

His musings were cut short when a terrible laugh boomed throughout the chamber, that same laugh that Phantom Ganon had, and it came from the said phantom.

"That's impossible..." Ginny whispered.

Jerkily, like a puppet in the hands of an inexperienced puppeteer, Phantom Ganon rose into the air, glaring at them with dead eyes. "So... You are the ones who defeated my phantom. Pah! He was nothing compared to me." The voice from within the Phantom boomed out arrogantly.

"Ganondorf!" Link spat hatefully.

"You... you're that boy from seven years ago... Well... you and these other brats might be fun... I'll see you soon..."

And with that message, the phantom exploded in a flash of light, and was gone.

"I really, really hate that accursed bastard." Link muttered.

Suddenly, a large blue pillar of light erupted from the floor, causing the Harry and Ginny to step back in uncertainty, but Link stepped forward. "You two stay here." He ordered, before stepping into the portal, and was gone in a flash of light.

* * *

Link found himself in a place he had been in once before. The Chamber of the Sages. "Did I do it?" Link asked.

"You did Link. Thank you."

Link spun around to face his old friend Saria.

"You... haven't aged a day." Link whispered softly. She looked the same as ever, dressed, as all Kokiri were, in all green clothing, from her skirt to her dress. Her viridian eyes and her forest green hair were unchanged. Nothing about her had changed.

But Link had.

Saria gave him that same sad smile she gave him the day he first departed from the Lost Woods. "Thank you Link. Thanks to your efforts, I have awakened as the Sage of the Forest."

"You're the..." Link echoed in awe and disbelief.

She giggled. "Yes Link, I am. I am glad of it too, because now I can help you on your quest."

"Great!" Link said, smiling. "Let's get out of here!"

But Saria still smiled that same, sad smile she gave him before. And it caused Link's blood to run cold for a moment, and he wanted to demand that Saria disprove what he had just thought. But he knew it was true.

"You're not coming back with me to Kokiri village, are you?" It wasn't a question, not really.

"No." She sounded so sad and so wistful in that moment that Link wanted to break this chamber and demand she come with him. "I will always be your friend Link. And as long as you play my song, I'll be with you."

Link closed his eyes in bitterness and to shut off the flow of tears that threatened to spill out of the ocean of his eyes. "I'll always play that song, Saria."

"Goodbye Link."

* * *

Link was engulfed in a flash of light for a moment, and reappeared right outside of the Great Deku Tree, where his quest first began.

"Where the bloody hell are we!"

And he wasn't alone, apparently. Stifling the burning pain in his chest at the thought of never seeing Saria again, he grinned at them. "We're at the Great Deku Tree Meadow."

"Original, isn't it?" Ginny asked wryly.

"I guess not." A new voice answered, child-like and innocent, yet full of ancient wisdom.

Harry and Ginny looked behind Link in shock, and the green clad elf turned slowly to see a small tree right at the base of the Great Deku Tree, with new, tender bark and a face.

"Flying flaming skulls, phantoms, and now talking trees?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow. "This world is weird."

The tree laughed, shaking its boughs softly. "Perhaps."

"Who are you?" Link asked curiously.

"I am the Great Deku Tree Sprout!" The tree spouted happily.

Link glanced at the decaying Great Deku Tree, that gigantic tree with a canopy that obscured the sky, with some pain, and turned back towards the sprout. They kind of looked alike, like a great-great grandfather and his great-great grandson. Kind of.

"Uh... I can see the resemblance?" Link said awkwardly.

The sprout laughed again, and seemed to smile at him. "It is fine. I am young, and he is ancient. But now Link, I must impart upon you the truth about your heritage." Now the Deku Tree Sprout seemed hesitant and grave.

Link gulped. "What do you mean... I'm a Kokiri!" He protested, but even he knew he was lying.

"No Link, you are a Hylian. Sixteen years ago, Hyrule was embroiled in a bitter war. Fires and battles and death were commonplace, and peace was non-existent. During that time, a young Hylian woman made her way into the forest, and managed to make it here, to the Great Deku Tree. She pleaded with him to take in her son, and the Great Deku Tree was moved, and granted her wish."

"That's... not true. It can't be..." Link whispered, backing away slowly. This was too much. First Saria, and now this? His entire life had been a lie?

Harry and Ginny approached Link slowly. "Link... are you-" Harry began, but Link cut him off.

"I want to be alone for a while." Link declared, and turned slowly, and walked away.

"I hope he doesn't take this too hard..." Navi muttered, following him.

Harry and Ginny looked at each other, knowing that there was nothing they could do for their elfin friend.

Link's cobalt eyes began to bleed out tears, and he struggled to contain them, rushing back to his childhood home, trying to turn back time, so that he could just have pretended forever. He wanted to go back to the way things were.

Sheik's words rang true in his mind, echoing around him mockingly, taunting him about all that had happened. _The flow of time is always cruel...Its speed seems different for each person, but no one can change it...A thing that doesn't change with time is a memory of younger days..._

* * *

Thanks HellHound, Aishwarya, FroBoy, Emma Barrows, ThePianoFiend, TwistedNecro, Andrew Roberts, Silver Warrior, Shiniagami's Shadow, Tanydwr, korrd, mashimaromadness, and PinkyTheSnowman for reviewing!

Q&A

HellHound- I've known quite a few people who despise RPG's, but I personally am obsessed. Half my game collection contains those. Another quarter is giant fighting robots. They rock.

Aishwarya- I will never make up a world for them, they will be visiting multiple places. In this case, you were wrong, it was a game. With the variety I put in, I hope that everyone finds a world they particularly enjoy.

Andrew Roberts- Well, you could do a google search on the Legend of Zelda, you'll probably find some info, but I'll be working in info you need to know within the story. I won't leave a reader lost.

Silver Warrior- They'll have to wait when Link goes back in time. They can't follow. I can't really do an LOTR crossover here, what with how I'm working everything. I haven't played either Lunar game. As for the Buffy/Angel enemy, it's going to be in L.A., but will have the Buffy cast. The enemy is (explosion)

Shiniagami's Shadow- I don't mind, the Final Fantasy game I selected is…

Tanydwr- The Legend of Zelda is a video game. You'll pretty much get the plot piecemeal as I write this. I'm glad you liked the Link comment. There could be much more later on.

PinkyTheSnowman- I'm glad you liked it. I'm not into T.V. as much either anymore, but I still watch from time to time. Don't attack me! I won't be able to write!

AN: And we are done! That little scene with Molly was just too good to let go of. I'm thinking of doing something back in the HP world, so that Dumbledore and his end don't get bored. And I'm sorry if I kind of glazed over the latter half of the temple, I just couldn't stomach any more battle scenes in a row, not with a giant boss battle. Finally, the song "Smile Bomb", the intro to Yu Yu Hakusho, fits this story perfectly. Thanks for reading and please review!


	7. Recovery

Disclaimer- I don't own the Legend of Zelda or Harry Potter.

AN: I was writing this with the Temple included, when I realized that it was just too long, and that you'd all probably like an update, right? So I cut the chapter in half. The temple will be next.

* * *

Chapter 7 Recovery

It had been two days since the ordeal in the Forest Temple. For the most part, Harry and Ginny had been hanging around the Great Deku Tree Sprout. Harry found it fun, mainly because the sprout reminded him of Dumbledore, and it was good to have someone, even a talking tree, to talk to.

Link hadn't been out of his house the entire time. Harry had glared at Ginny when she said the two of them could get into a brooding contest.

Still, they needed to get going, and no matter how long spending time in the forest was nice, getting a move on would be good. So now, Harry found himself in this argument.

"You talk to him!" Ginny protested as Harry pushed her towards Link's house.

"You're better at getting brooding people out of... well... brooding!" Harry said brightly as the redhead continued to struggle against him.

"I'm good at getting you out of brooding because I won't take any shite off of you!" Ginny protested loudly, "I don't know if that will work on Link!"

"Just try it!" Harry pleaded, looking into Ginny's eyes deeply, causing a shiver to run down both their spines. "Please?"

Ginny stopped struggling, and acted like she was doing Harry a life-saving favor. "Oh, alright." Ginny said, waving it off for a moment, before looking back at Harry.

"How about we both do it?" Ginny asked.

"But I'm no-" Harry began, but Ginny cut him off.

"Oh no Harry James Potter, if I'm going up there, you are too!" Ginny exclaimed, and grabbed him, dragging the bigger, but now helpless Harry towards the tree house.

"But-"

"The only butt is going to be yours when I kick it if you don't shut up!"

* * *

"Link?" Ginny called out softly, stepping slowly and peering into the tree house cautiously, with Harry right behind her, looking a bit more nervous.

Silence greeted them.

"Link, we're coming in." Ginny said softly, but more firmly now, and pulled Harry inside. It was very dark in the tree house, with blocks put up against the sun, and their backs to the doorway, so it took a moment to adjust to the stark difference in lighting.

But when their eyes adjusted, they found a disheartening sight.

Link was sitting on his bed, looking decidedly worse for the wear, holding his head in between his knees. His clothes were rumpled and still stained with the blood from his injuries in the Forest Temple. The Master Sword was cast off angrily to the side, impaling itself on the woodwork.

"You okay Link?" Harry asked concernedly.

"Fine." Link mumbled, but a slight sniffle and a cough offset the idea that he was.

"Link, look at us." Ginny said softly, but Link didn't budge an inch. Ginny's brown eyes narrowed. "Link! Look at us!" She barked, and Link was so startled that he did look up.

"Dear Merlin..." Harry breathed softly. The elf's cobalt eyes were surrounded by crimson and crusted with dried tears, his face pale and drawn.

"You look terrible. You haven't eaten at all, or slept, have you?" Ginny asked angrily, concerned over her friend's state, "And where's Navi?"

"I told her to go away. I'm not a Kokiri, so why should I have a fairy?" Link answered despondently, flatly, so devoid of tone and inflection that it scared Ginny and Harry, who knew the elf as being sarcastic and lively.

"And she let you get away with that?" Harry asked, amazed.

"She tried, but I didn't want her around." Link said in that same dead tone, before adding with a hint of bitterness, "I don't want to do this anymore."

"Sometimes, we all have to do something we don't want to." Harry said sagely, his voice soft and comforting.

"And what would you know!" Link shot back angrily, glaring at the green-eyed wizard, "What would you know about my destiny! What I've lost! In the space of one day, I found out that I'm not who I've been told I am, that I've been lied to my entire damned life, and lost my oldest friend to the damn will of destiny! What would you know about me! I lost my parents, and now the closest thing I had to a sister! What would you know!"

Harry's eyes narrowed dangerously, and even Ginny took a step back at just how furious he looked. Grabbing Link, he pushed him against the wall roughly and angrily, boring into Link's cobalt eyes with his blazing emeralds. "You listen hear Link." Harry whispered dangerously and with quiet fury, "You're not the only one with a destiny to fulfill. We all have things we don't want to do, and believe me, I've lost some people too! Good people, people I loved more than anything!" Now Link's anger was fading under the fury of Harry's tone.

"I watched the closest thing I had to a father die in front of me. I've lost my parents too, and had the man who killed them taunt me about their deaths. I've relived their deaths in my dreams endlessly, too many times to count. I've seen a friend of mine get killed right in front of my very eyes, callously and without any true malice. And do you know why they died, Link?" Harry asked dangerously, his voice almost impossible to hear, "They died because they were with me! They're deaths happened because they were around me, trying to protect me, trying to just be near me!"

Harry's tirade was reaching its full momentum now. "And don't you ever talk to me about destiny! I have my own destiny, and believe me, it's just as difficult as yours! And when I got it, I moped around, and I whined about it." Harry pressed his face closer to Link's, glaring at him dangerously. "But not anymore. Do you want the friends you lost, everyone who died and sacrificed themselves for you to go to waste? Do you think that your friend would want you to just sit here and mope when your world is dying? We all have to walk through the fire sometime Link, and sometimes we lose friends, but we do not stop because of that. That would dishonor the friends we lost."

"You didn't know Saria!" Link shouted angrily, pushing Harry back, away from him. "You didn't know her!"

"No, but no true friend would want someone to mope about forever! They'd want you to do your best! That's what true friends do!" Harry blazed, stepping closer to Link again, before his tone mollified considerably. "And you know, the one's we love never truly leave us. They're always right here." He placed a hand on the right side of Link's chest, right where his heart was, and nodded. "They never really leave us."

Link's anger seemed to fade, and a silvery tear trickled down from his cobalt eyes. He fell back onto his bed, looking as if he felt the effects of brooding for two days straight for the first time. "Thanks. I needed that." Link said softly.

"No problem." Harry smiled, holding out his hand, anger forgotten. "Now come on, we've got a fairy to find, and a world to save."

The fire seemed back in Link's sapphire eyes, and he nodded, grasping Harry's hand firmly, allowing the wizard to pull him back up.

"About time," Ginny drawled slowly, "You were beginning to act more like Mr. Broody over here."

"I do not brood!" Harry and Link simultaneously protested loudly, while Ginny burst into a fit of giggles.

* * *

"Let's go find Navi first." Ginny said, looking towards Link pointedly. "You need to apologize."

"Oh man... she's never going to forgive me..." Link muttered despairingly.

"She's your friend, of course she will. I mean, how long can she hold a grudge?" Harry asked.

Link looked at him incredulously for a moment, before shaking his head. "Trust me, girls can hold a grudge for a while."

Ginny kicked his shin right afterward, causing Link to howl in pain and beginning a strange dance involving hopping on one foot and clutching his raised knee while crying out in pain, "Faore, Naryu, and Din! Not so violent!"

"Smooth..." Harry muttered, grinning.

"Shut it you." Ginny shot back.

"Or what?" Harry asked challengingly, raising an eyebrow.

"Or I'll give you the same treatment." Ginny narrowed her chocolate eyes, causing Harry to back up, raising his arms.

"I surrender."

Link burst out into uproarious laughter, clutching his sides and his eyes watering with mirth, causing the offworlders to look at him strangely for a moment, before they burst out laughing too.

"Thanks guys," Link said quietly, once they were done laughing, "I needed that. And for before too."

"No problem," They chimed in unison, causing Link to burst out into laughter once more.

Spotting a slight blue shimmer off in the distance, Harry started. "Hey! I think I found her!" Harry ran off in the direction of the light, and Ginny quickly followed him, and Link trailed behind smiling at his new friends.

"I wish I could repay them for their help..." Link muttered to himself wistfully, before an idea struck him. More specifically, an object in his bag when he took a step.

"That could work..." Link smiled, and grabbed two pieces of wood, stuffing them in his bag quickly, before running after his friends. "That would be perfect..."

* * *

After about half an hour of groveling on Link's part, Navi 'grudgingly' agreed to take Link back, but threatening to not 'be so nice' next time, after she smacked his head with the force of a thrown rock. After that, they ate a while, with Link nearly outmatching Ron's appetite, Harry and Ginny observed.

"So... what do we do now?" Ginny asked, impatient to get started.

"Well, there are six temples in all. One in a forest, one in a mountain, one in a lake, one in the house of the dead, and one inside the goddess of the sand." Link recited slowly. "When we go to one, we awaken a sage. We need to awaken all six sages to help us take down Ganondorf."

"Well, we did the forest one," Ginny held up six fingers and then ticked off one. "So which one next?"

"Well, there's really only one mountain, one lake, one place with sand in Hyrule, and only one graveyard that I'm aware of, so all the locations seem easy enough. We'll head towards Death Mountain first." Link said.

"Death Mountain?" Harry remarked, raising an ebony eyebrow. "Are all the locations' names dangerous sounding? What's the lake, the Drowning Lake?"

Ginny rolled his eyes while Link simply shook his head. "It does sound pretty dangerous, but we should be fine."

"Should?" Ginny asked, raising her eyebrow now.

"No guarantees," Link grinned and winked roguishly at the two of them.

"Are there ever?" Harry commented sardonically.

* * *

The foursome made their way out of the Lost Woods fairly quickly, after saying goodbye to the Kokiri, who had been slightly afraid, then curious about the newcomers, as Link didn't mention that he had once grown up with them.

"Hedwig?" Harry called out loudly, cupping his hands over his mouth.

A screech later, and a flash of white, and the snowy white owl flew down onto her master's shoulder, nipping his ear affectionately. "Its good to see you too girl. You've been taking care of yourself?" Harry asked, stroking Hedwig's snowy white feathers softly.

Meanwhile, Link removed his ocarina from his belt and began playing a new song. This song was fast, yet sweet and light, free as the wind, and just as quick.

Off in the distance, Epona appeared, and the roan mare quickly made her way back to her master, neighing in pleasure as Link scratched her hide.

As Ginny and Navi watched amusedly on, they were unaware of a pair of crimson eyes that were watching them...

* * *

Lord Voldemort growled softly in frustration, watching the four young ones. He had been told to kill the boy once he revealed the princess Zelda, but now things were complicated.

How in the nine rings of Hell did Potter and the Weasley girl find him here!

Whatever they did to follow him, the Dark Lord was not pleased. Still, his job was to follow them at a distance, and flush out the princess.

Lord Voldemort could sense that the young elf had a strange power, similar to Ganondorf's in nature and yet different at the same time. The Triforce.

The Dark Lord had found out about it while researching, studying over a tome and probing Dragmire's mind from time to time. The Triforce was some sort of immense magical power, and whoever wielded it could shape the world according to their desires. This was the fount of magical energy in this realm, Voldemort had realized, and vowed to capture. Apparently, the Triforce split into three parts, from what he had gathered. One to Dragmire, one disappeared, and one to the princess of Hyrule.

Ganondorf he would have to be careful with, but could strike him down soon enough. The boy, who it seemed gained the second piece, would also be easy, it seemed. But the princess was yet to come out of hiding.

And so Lord Voldemort waited and watched and plotted for his moment to strike, when all three pieces of the Triforce came together and were revealed.

Then, just as a snake waits for the precise moment, lightning quick, he would strike down all three and gain the power of the Triforce and rid himself of Potter and the Weasley girl.

Until that time, the Dark Lord would have to wait, and watch, and be silent as a wraith. Soon his day would come.

* * *

Before the four climbed up Death Mountain, Link suggested that they go and resupply at Kakariko, since it was next to Death Mountain. The other's agreed, although Navi had made several snide comments about how Link was _finally _thinking straight, which caused the elf to swat at the blue fairy.

When they got into Kakariko, Link suggested he go get the supplies while they rested up. After a half-hearted argument, Harry and Ginny gave up and Link pressed out quickly for a shop that had caught his eye earlier.

After a few more minutes of walking slowly, greeting various people he had seen before, such as those crazy twins, that lovey-dovey couple that still ignored everyone around them, and the cuckoo lady (not that she was crazy, but that she cared for cuckoos), he reached the shop.

Ignoring Navi's inquiry, he pushed inside quickly and shut the door surreptitiously. "Hello? Is anyone here?"

"Yeah, what do ya want boy?" A wheezing voice asked gruffly.

"I'd like to-" Before Link could finish, a sharp intake of breath was heard and the owner of the shop stepped forward. He was a portly, elderly man, with small, dexterous hands that had a few splinters and scars, and large and sharp eyes not dolled by age.

"Yer that kid from seven years ago..." The owner wheezed softly.

Link blinked. He had never been to this shop before, never needing one of the objects before, having his own. "What?"

"Yer late, kid." He said gruffly, "But I still got your order." The owner turned and went burrowing into one of the cabinets for a moment, finally retrieving a medium sized, slightly dusty and grubby package. "Here ya go." He handed the package over to the befuddled Hero of Time, who nodded.

"Thanks." He managed quietly, before opening the wrapping. Sure enough, the exact objects he was about to ask for were there.

Navi gasped softly. "That's for them?" She asked, amazed at how thoughtful Link was.

"Now that's just weird..." Link muttered, ignoring her, still confused, but wrapped it up again and stuffed it in his pouch. "Thanks..."

* * *

An hour later, Link had garnered the remaining supplies he could find, and the foursome was off again. Although the puzzle about how Link had given the order to the shop owner was a mystery, it was a mystery he could wait to solve till later.

When they reached the base of the mountain, Epona looked to wary of the mountain, and the slopes were a bit too much for the mare, so Link said his goodbye. Harry petted Hedwig (who hadn't left his shoulder for a while) and asked her to wander around for a bit too. An active volcano was no place for an owl.

Of course, it's no place for any human without a death wish either.

It took them a good hour of huffing and puffing, a few stumbles and slips along the way, to reach the Goron City. When they went inside, they found...

Nothing. The city was as empty as Hyrule Castle Town, except without the creepy zombies, they thankfully noted.

"Damn. Where is everyone?" Link asked quietly, as Harry clenched his staff tightly and Ginny fingered her wand nervously. The silence was creeping them out. Well, silent except for- "That sound... what is that?" Link breathed softly, holding up his hand.

It was a tiny rumble, akin to a medium sized rock being rolled around a hill. In fact, it looked exactly like a medium sized rock was rolling up towards them, moving at an incredible speed. "A Goron," Link grinned, and stepped near it. "Hey!" Link called out, holding out his hand and waving.

He might as well have been talking to a rock, as the Goron simply rolled on, ignoring his hails. Frustrated, Link stepped in front of the rolling Goron.

Big mistake. Link realized this fact as he lay sprawled on the ground, bowled over by the force of the Goron's roll, listening with closed eyes to the choir of uproarious laughter from his friends. "A little help?" Link asked, annoyed.

As a laughing Harry Potter pulled the Hero of Time to his feet, the elf brushed his clothes off, checking his quiver for broken arrows and his pouch for any damage. Thankfully, there was none. "Okay, so he won't listen will he... well then I'll make him listen." Link growled, a dangerous glint in his eye that reminded Ginny and Harry of a predator about to strike. The two of them wisely backed off.

Walking calm and controlled over to a peculiar looking plant whose bulb looked like a bomb, he grinned. Only Navi knew what that flower was, and just what Link was planning.

"Link! You can't possibly be serious!" Navi protested, but Link's grin only widened. The grin reminded both Harry and Ginny of the twins. Needless to say, they backed off even further.

The low, tiny rumble was back, and so was the rolling Goron. Link's maniacal grin deepened and he grabbed the bulb of the flower, as Navi continued protesting. "Link, that's a bomb flower, not a toy!"

"Bomb flower... you don't think-" Harry began, but Ginny, more adaptable to the fact that sometimes, Hyrule made no sense, grabbed Harry and pulled them both down to the floor.

Link hurled the bomb flower right at the rolling Goron, and it hit dead on, exploding right in front of the Goron and sending him flying into the wall.

"Oh yeah!" Link said, pumping his fist into the air. "I am so good."

"That...never mind." Harry muttered, shaking his head.

"Link! Did you have to be so violent?" Ginny scolded, rushing to the Goron's aid, before her eyes widened and then narrowed as she whipped around, glaring at Link. "He's just a kid!"

"Do your worst fiend." The Goron child hissed, glaring at them all. Now that they could properly see him, it was definitely certain he was a child. Covered in earthy brown skin with an almost reptilian face and small black eyes, with a wide mouth and even in youth, his body seemed powerfully built, and his arms and legs were smaller than a human's but more solidly built.

"Hey look, I just wanted to talk." Link said, raising his hands into the air in a gesture of peace, "And I'm not on Ganondorf's side."

Harry and Ginny and Navi shot him incredulous looks for his first statement, and the Goron looked suspicious. "How do I know I can trust you?" He asked warily.

Link sighed. "Look, I'm sorry about the bomb thing. Here, the first sign of trust is giving your name. My name's Link." At the mention of Link's name, the Goron straightened and looked in awe of the elf, which made Link slightly nervous.

"Truly? You are the Great Link?" He asked in awe, and Ginny, Harry, and Navi nearly burst from the giggles that erupted from them at the title as Link blushed.

"Just Link."

The Goron stood, bowing lowly and nearly tripping over himself doing it. "I am Link, Just Link."

"What?" Four voices asked incredulously, before Link blinked and the other's realized what the Goron said.

"No, my name's Link." Link said quickly as the other's broke out into a chorus of laughter, earning a glare from Link.

"My father is Big Brother Darunia, and he named me after you!" Goron Link said, smiling at the elf Link.

"Er... I'm honored?" Link honestly tried not to sound flustered and incredulous and questioning, but Goron Link seemed to not notice.

"Uh...Link?" Link asked, ignoring the laughter of his friends, "Where is everyone?"

At this question, Goron Link looked deeply troubled and saddened. "Ganondorf took all of the others away and locked them into something called the Fire Temple, except me and Big Brother."

"Why do you call him Big Brother if he's your father?" Ginny interrupted curiously.

Goron Link smiled. "He's my father, but he is Big Brother to all Gorons."

"He's kind of the leader," Link explained, before turning back to Goron Link. "What happened to Darunia?"

The worry lines increased on the young Goron's face. "He told me to wait up here and not get caught, while he went down to free our people. But he is in trouble, he is, because Ganondorf also resurrected the dragon Volvagia!"

Harry and Ginny's mouths dropped open in shock. "A dragon? A bloody dragon now?" Ginny asked, blinking furiously in consternation.

"First a Phantom, now a dragon?" Harry muttered, rubbing his glasses on his shirt. "This just keeps getting better and better."

"Who's Volvagia?" Link asked.

"Long ago, Volvagia the evil dragon lived in Death Mountain, eating Gorons. He was very scary," Goron Link shivered, as a child shivers at the mention of childhood fears, " But the hero of the Gorons used a giant hammer and smashed Volvagia, destroying him! And that hero is my ancestor!"

"So... I think we're going to need to find this hammer to kill the dragon." Harry said slowly, "Is that right?"

Goron Link frowned. "I don't know," He answered, "The hammer was lost."

"Don't worry," Link said, clasping the Goron's shoulder, "It'll turn up, and we'll beat that dragon and rescue your dad."

"So, where are the Gorons being kept?" Ginny asked.

"I think that this 'Fire Temple' is in the Death Mountain Crater." Goron Link answered, and Ginny, Harry, and Link paled, despite the warmth of the area.

"Well, that's going to be a problem." Link said slowly, turning towards Harry and Ginny. "Do you two have any magic that can help us?"

Ginny shook her head, and Harry answered, "None of our magic would last long in the heart of a volcano."

Link swore under his breath, but Goron Link suddenly brightened. "I know a way! Follow me!"

* * *

Goron Link led them into a storeroom, where he took out three blood red tunics, in the same fashion as Link's green tunic. He proudly presented them to the group. "These are Goron Tunics!" He said, grinning.

"As much as I like them," Ginny said slowly, eying the tunics, "I don't see how that's going to help us."

"These are made up of dodongo skins, and they were made to help Hylians get into Death Mountain. These will keep the heat from affecting you!"

"See, I knew there would be something to help us." Link said, rolling his eyes at the two offworlders. "And you were giving up!"

"Oh shut up Link!" Harry mock scoffed.

"I did!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

Navi and Ginny shared a wry glance. "Boys."

* * *

Five minutes later, they were all changed into their Goron Tunics (save Navi, who did not feel the heat), and were ready to head down to the Fire Temple at last.

"So, where is the entrance?" Harry asked.

"Down in Big Brother's room." Goron Link said, and both Link's led the others down to the Darunia's room.

Once there, Goron Link told them to pull on the statue in the corner, which revealed a hidden entrance to the crater.

"All right, Link, you stay here." The green clad Link said to the Goron Link.

"What? But-"

"No buts." Link said firmly. "Its too dangerous for you."

"This coming from the guy who ran into a cave full of Dodongos?" Navi muttered.

Link ignored her, but it seemed Link (the other one) wasn't about to get left behind. Finally, Ginny walked up to him and bent down a bit to look him in the eye.

"Link, I have a job for you. It's really important, so do you think you can handle it?" Ginny asked seriously.

Goron Link nodded eagerly.

"Okay," Ginny said, trying to keep the grin off her face, "We need someone strong to watch our backs and make sure this place stays safe. Me and Harry need to help out Link, so do you think you can do this?"

"Yes!"

"Good," Ginny said, standing up, "Now buck up soldier! We'll see you when we get back with your dad and everyone else!"

Goron Link saluted, and walked off, grinning.

Link's jaw was open, and Harry was grinning madly. "You are good." Harry complimented.

"And don't you forget it!" Ginny winked and grinned, causing Harry to blush, but the redhead didn't notice, breezing past them both.

* * *

Then she stopped dead in her tracks. "Okay... that's not what I was expecting." Ginny gulped, and took a cautious step back as the boys joined her.

"That's... a lot of lava..." Link muttered nervously, eyeing the glowing orange lake carefully.

"You know, when I said we all have to walk through the fire sometime, I didn't mean it literally..." Harry remarked wryly, causing Ginny to smack his arm in annoyance.

"Prat." Ginny scolded good-naturedly.

A sudden urge to tease came over Harry, despite the obscene amount of glowing, deadly lava in front of them. "You know you love me," He grinned, before wincing internally. _Why did I say that?_

Ginny blinked. Did Harry just flirt? Deciding that fortune favored the bold, she grinned mischievously. "Perhaps," She said teasingly, before turning and allowing her hair to brush Harry's nose gently, tickling his senses.

Harry blinked. What the heck just happened here?

Link shook his head, "Man, those two are as blind as a Moblin and twice as thick."

"Whose as thick as a Moblin?"

"GACK! Sheik! Don't do that!" Link bit back a multitude of oaths, stumbling backwards. The Sheikah was standing in front of them, on the broken bridge that they hadn't noticed just yet, wearing the same clothes as before, and probably smirking.

"Where in the heck were you hiding yourself?" Ginny asked, looking around curiously.

Although they couldn't see Sheik's mouth, they were sure he was smirking. "Its what I do. And besides," Now they were definitely sure he was smirking, "The look on Link's face is priceless."

"Jerk." Link muttered under his breath, good-naturedly though.

If Sheik heard, he ignored it. "It is something that grows overtime... a true friendship. A feeling in the heart that becomes even stronger over time...The passion of friendship will soon blossom into a righteous power and through it, you will know which way to go...This song is dedicated to the power of the heart...Listen to the Bolero of Fire..." He recited.

"Do you spend all your time making up these things?" Harry asked, raising an ebony eyebrow.

Per his usual modus operandi, Sheik ignored the quip and he raised the same harp as before as Link raised the Ocarina of Time, and the two played a new song. Unlike before, it was quick, fast almost to the point of being brutally so, full of passion and fire, but also tenderness and caring, swirling around them like an inferno of music.

Soon, the music stopped, and both players let their instruments down. "I'll see you all again." Sheik said in almost a whisper, as if he didn't really want to leave but desperately did want to at the same time. In another blinding flash of light that Ginny and Harry avoided this time, he was gone.

"I really, really hate it when he does that." Link murmured, mostly to himself.

"You've got to give him credit on the whole mysterious ally thing, though." Ginny said observantly.

"So, does anyone want to find out how to get across the bridge?" Harry asked wryly, gesturing to the broken bridge.

"Hookshot." Link said, grinning.

"No way in hell am I trusting that thing. I'm Apparating. You want to come Link? Or is it jus going to be Gin?" Harry asked, gesturing out with his hand to the redhead, who glanced between Link's mechanism and a method of travel she knew better.

"Come on, its fun!" Link said, sounding like a salesman rather than the Hero of Time.

"I'll take my chances with Harry." Ginny muttered, grasping Harry's hand tightly.

"Traitor." Link said, holding a hand to his chest mockingly.

"You'll get over it." Harry quipped, and then Apparated them both over to the other side.

A hookshot ride later, and Link joined them.

"You know Link, Harry's right. You do look ridiculous flying through the air like that." Ginny grinned.

"Is this annoy Link week?" The elf groaned.

"No, that's next week silly." Ginny said, patting his shoulder comfortingly.

Link gave another groan of annoyance, before he broke out into simultaneous laughter with the witch and wizard.

Navi sighed. "We're all doomed."

Together, the Hero of Time, the Boy-Who-Lived, the youngest Weasley, and a pessimistic fairy stepped into the Fire Temple.

* * *

Thanks to japanese-jew, Wren Truesong, Shinigami's Shadow, Silver Warrior, animeluver, Tanydwr, PinkyTheSnowman, Dune, TopQuark, Tytianne, Emma Barrows, Shadowed Rains, Andrew Roberts, Snoopy in Shadows, and mashimaromadness for reviewing!

Q&A

japanese-jew- Sorry, no can do. There's only six temples anyway.

Wren Truesong- I'm glad you liked him. Its how I envisioned he'd deal with the adventure.

Shinigami's Shadow- Dunno, but it will be fun for me! I get to vent every angry moment that that temple put me through.

Silver Warrior- That's right! Five more temple chapters, but only one chapter for the confrontation at Ganon's castle. Its going to be even bigger than the final fight in the Inuyasha world!

animeluver- Yu Yu Hakusho won't be for a while. I have plans for that world. I don't know what saiyuki is, and I'm glad you liked the awkward moments. Did you like the one's here?

Tanydwr- I'm glad you're enjoying the adventure, despite not playing or hearing about it.

PinkyTheSnowman- Actually, I hadn't heard about that new Zelda game yet. Thanks.

Dune- I love Trigun, and Blade is cool. I'll see if I can work them in.

Andrew Roberts- I'm probably not going to do Seven next. The next story I'm planning to release has never been dreamed of before. Its got more twists than a game of twister.

AN: Again, its a bit short, but if I put the whole temple in, you'd have to wait a lot longer. Thanks for reading and please review!


	8. Walk Through The Fire

Disclaimer- I don't own the Legend of Zelda or Harry Potter.

AN: Argh... Sorry this took so long. Changed some of the temple layout again, as usual.

* * *

Chapter 8 Walk Through the Fire

"This place certainly... lives up to the name," Link said slowly, gazing around at the room they stood in, which contained only a ladder. Despite having no sunlight, there was light, a kind of light that came from a fire. Also, Link knew, if they hadn't had their tunics, they would be dying of the heat by now.

"Well, who thinks we should go up the ladder?" Harry asked rhetorically, grabbing the wooden device and hoisting himself up first.

After climbing the ladder up to the Fire Temple, the four were met with another Goron in a large chamber, probably the main one, whom Link recognized.

"Darunia?" Link asked uncertainly.

"Is that you? Link?" The Goron said uncertainly, squinting. After a moment, realization struck his features and he grabbed the elf in a hug that made Molly Weasley's hugs seem laughably weak. Needless to say, Link looked like he was about to snap in half before Darunia let him go.

"It is you!" The overjoyed Goron laughed, "It's been two long Brother."

Harry raised an eyebrow at Link, who mouthed, 'Later'.

"Well, I'm glad to have you at my back... and now look at you!" Darunia said happily, clapping Link on the back heartily, causing the elf to stumble forward. "You're a grown man now! And who are these two?" The Goron asked curiously, but suspiciously, eyeing Harry and Ginny.

"This is Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley, Darunia," Link said, stepping slightly out of range of the Goron's reach as to avoid any more poundings.

"Good to have more help! Any friends of my sworn Brother is a friend of mine! Now, I need you three to do something for me." Quickly, Darunia explained the situation. The rest of the Goron's were in multiples cells scattered around the temple. Darunia would look for a way to defeat Volvagia and Harry, Ginny, Link, and Navi would find a way to free the Goron people.

Agreeing to meet back in this main chamber, the group and Darunia split off, Darunia going right, and Harry, Ginny, Navi, and Link going left.

* * *

In the first room they entered, they found a large switch on the floor and a Goron in a cell, who looked immensely pleased to see them, not even thinking they could be working for Ganondorf.

"It couldn't possibly be that easy... right?" Harry voiced, looking at the large dull gold switch that bulged out of the stone floor like a rough, angular lump.

Link shrugged, and stepped on the switch, which immediately flattened, and the bars of the cage receded back into the floor. Thanking them, the rescued Goron walked out of the temple.

"Uh... how is he going to get back across the broken bridge?" Ginny asked curiously.

Again, Link just shrugged.

"Well, regardless of how he's going to get back, I hope all of this rescuing operation is as easy as that." Harry said hopefully, but Link shook his head.

"No, there's no way it's going to be easy..." Link said grimly, "It's going to get a lot more difficult."

The two boys were quiet for a moment, until Ginny's voice broke the somber mood. "If you two are done being maudlin, I found a chest in the cell!" Ginny called out.

Link and Harry's heads swung around, and sure enough, there was a small wooden treasure chest _inside_ the cell. "Can I just say that's the most idiotic thing ever?" Harry commented sardonically.

"Seconded," Ginny muttered, nodding as she opened the chest, pulling out a small silver key.

"Thirded." Link added with a grin.

"That's not a word!" Navi commented, probably rolling her eyes.

"Sure it is!" Link argued.

"Okay, maybe instead of making a meaningless argument," Ginny drawled sardonically, "We could help free more Gorons."

"Right, let's get back to that," Harry said quickly, before an argument could break out.

* * *

Link, Harry, Ginny, and Navi returned to the room they met Darunia in, and found that they had to go in the direction that the Goron leader went in. Opening the door, they found no trace of Darunia as they went on, instead finding a veritable lake of lava that had to be navigated by walking across a series of stone blocks, and then in another room they found imprisoned Goron and a switch on the floor.

After freeing the Goron (and a few remarks from Harry), they opened another chest and got another key, and then made their way back into the lava room.

"Where to next?" Harry asked, looking around and finding no other exits, extremely grateful that his Goron Tunic kept him from feeling the intense heat of the room. "Back to the first room?"

Link shook his head. "There's only one more door there, and I'd bet the Master Sword it leads to Volvagia. We're not going to be able to enter there until we pass through this entire Temple and find the key. No..." Link muttered, scanning the room with cobalt eyes, "There must be something I'm missing." Turning to Navi, who was hovering above his shoulder, he asked her to scour the room for anything interesting.

After a few moments of searching, the blue fairy came whizzing back, bouncing up and down (literally) in the air. "I found a crack in the wall!" She declared excitedly.

Link smiled widely, although it was the kind of smile you'd find on a pyromaniac's face as he burned something to the ground. Harry and Ginny stepped back slightly as Link asked the fairy to show him where.

Crossing to opposite wall, they found a medium sized crack in the wall. Before Harry or Ginny could ask what Link planned to do, the elf reached into his bag and pulled out a small, fist sized navy blue orb with a small string on top. Harry immediately recognized the blue object for what it was, and pulled Ginny backwards quickly. The redhead stumbled, and asked angrily, "What the bloody hell are you on abou-"

And then the world exploded around them.

Harry managed to yank Ginny down to the floor and covered her ears with one arm and attempted to cover his own with the other.

As the dust settled and the ringing in their ears ceased, the Boy-Who-Lived helped the petite redhead back on her feet. "What... the hell... was that?" Ginny gasped slowly, holding her hand to her chest in shock.

"That, was a bomb. Think of it like Reductor Curse and a Fire Spell in one." Harry answered slowly, shaking his head. "Why do you carry those things around?" Harry asked, turning to the smiling green clad elf.

"I love those things..." Link said to himself, before answering Harry. "For occasions like these."

"And because he loves the explosions," Navi quipped.

"To each his own I guess," Harry muttered, and the foursome stepped into the now gaping hole in the wall, plunging into a new section of the temple, into the fire.

* * *

Inside that room, they found another Goron in a cell and a convenient switch on the floor. This time, even Link had to comment.

"Okay... does anyone else wonder how Ganondorf took over Hyrule?" Link asked, raising his hand as the Goron left the room.

Harry and Ginny nodded furiously, shaking their heads in disbelief. Inside the room there was a convenient bridge that led to a locked door, which the group unlocked with one of their keys and moved onward. From there, the group entered a room, and was promptly attacked by angry Keese (a small, kind of bat-like creature that feeds on human flesh, Navi said) and flying ceramic tiles.

Needless to say, everyone was fast discovering that the temples were one giant conglomerate of insanity.

* * *

"This is insane!" the Boy-Who-Lived yelled out, as he turned several Keese into ash with an Incendio spell, before more of the tiny bats plunged down intent on devouring him.

Link and Ginny were using arrows on the Keese, but were fast running out of them, and so Ginny switched over to her wand, blasting both tile and Keese, and Link switched to the Master Sword and his shield, alternatively blocking with his shield and then slashing quickly against the bat creatures and smashing the flying tiles with his shield.

As the young wizard blasted a group of Keese into the wall, one of the tiles flew up into the air, and spun quickly, like a top, and hurled itself at him. Harry's staff was still pointed forward, and he was still a bit drained from using so much magic so quickly, so the Boy-Who-Lived did what was instinct to him.

Harry dove, avoiding the flying tile that would have given him a trip to the land of unconsciousness, but, in a remarkable coincidence, Ginny had stepped backwards, and the Boy-Who-Lived collided with the redhead.

Ginny opened her mouth to berate Harry when her chocolate brown eyes met Harry's emerald green, and time seemed to freeze. At that moment, neither of them wanted to leave that position, with Harry on top of her and Ginny below him. It felt right.

"Sorry..." Harry whispered breathlessly. His darkening green eyes seemed to be drinking her in, taking in her every feature, and Ginny felt as though she might be swallowed up in his gaze. She wouldn't have minded.

"That's... alright..." Ginny breathed softly, looking very attractive in the fiery light of the temple, her chocolate eyes sparkling and glazed, the Goron Tunic matching her hair perfectly. Her fiery hair was splayed out all over the floor, like soft red silky threads.

Neither of them could move for a moment, simply staring at each other. Ginny's lips parted a fraction, and Harry leaned closer, slowly, closer, and closer...

"Get up already!".

Navi's shrill and annoyed voice cut through the moment like a knife, and Harry and Ginny simultaneously glared at the fairy, while Link seemed to be struggling to hold in his laughter and failing miserably.

Harry was flushed and got up quickly, pulling the redhead up as well. Ginny blushed bright enough to cover the room in her glow, glaring at Navi.

Ginny wanted to kill that little fairy for interrupting the moment, but Harry was too confused, muddled in why exactly he had wanted to kiss Ginny Weasley so much in that moment.

_It was just hormones, you prat! She's Ron's little sister! _Harry berated himself, praying to any deity that would listen that Ginny hadn't felt his... reaction.

_Not so little anymore, _a little voice muttered suggestively, and before he could stop himself, his eyes raked across her form admiringly.

_Stop it!_

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Link wheezing and laughing, holding the wall for dear life, the Hero of Time having caught Harry's gaze. Harry glared at the elf, who simply started laughing harder.

Ginny was confused as well, once she got past her anger. She had wanted Harry so badly to kiss her at that moment, but she wanted to know why, to know it was more than just hormones or the fact that she was the only girl he knew. "Harry... uh..." Ginny began, stuttering softly and berating herself for going back to the old patterns.

"Its fine, Gin. We just... got caught up in the moment, right?" Harry said weakly, forcing an equally weak chuckle, missing the stricken look on Ginny's face, which passed soon.

"Yeah... just the moment..." Ginny whispered, blinking furiously and looking away, lest she begin crying.

Link watched all of this curiously with his cobalt eyes, wondering if he should step in and help his two friends find each other...

* * *

After some awkward silence, the group searched the room, Harry and Ginny doing their best to not look at each other, and Link slightly distracted by then tension, and Navi just being unaware. The green elf barely noticed that he passed over a hole in the floor when a sudden burst of heat scalded Link's back.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Link swore, and leapt aside. The other's turned towards Link, and much to the Hero of Time's surprise, they fell over laughing.

"What's so funny?" The elf asked, putting his hands on his hips sternly.

"Your arse is on fire." Harry replied, falling over in laughter.

Link turned, and indeed, his arse was on fire. Screaming like a little girl, the Hero of Time ran around in a circle, yelling, "PUT IT OUT! PUT IT OUT!"

Ginny, who had tears of mirth in her eyes, managed a choked, "Inriguus!" The Dousing Charm was a common counter to fire, the only problem was-

"I'm soaked!" The sopping wet Hero of Time protested angrily, his bright green clothes darkened with water, his hair dripping with the liquid.

"Oh suck it up Link," Harry drawled, "We're in the bloody Fire Temple. You're going to dry off pretty quick."

Grumbling, the elf stalked off, shaking his head, but, as he took a quick glance out of the corner of his eye and saw Harry and Ginny laughing, together, he smiled inwardly. A little damage to his clothes was a small price to pay to help friends, he thought to himself.

* * *

Eventually, the laughter subsided, and confusion stepped in to fill the void. Besides the geyser of hot air and fire and the giant stone block that stood like a sentinel in the corner of the room, there was nothing there.

"Damn... this is confusing. Where do we go?" Harry asked, tapping his foot lightly.

Sighing, Link sat onto the floor, and looked up. And from that change of view, he managed to spot something. "Hey, Navi! There's something up there! Could you-"

Before Link could finish his request, the blue fairy had already zipped up there, and then came back down. "There's an alcove up there! The rock's probably too hard for your hookshot, but Harry's magic should be able to get us up there!" Navi explained, looking at the green eyed wizard.

But Harry shook his head. "Unfortunately, if I don't have a clear picture of where I'm going, I might end up splinched inside a rock."

"Splinched?" Link asked.

"It means that part of him or us could be sticking out of a rock." Ginny explained bluntly.

Link looked sick, and blanched. "There's got to be another way up there..." Link muttered, and then glanced at the geyser, which blasted a powerful air current upwards, along with the fire that reached only halfway up, and got an idea. Looking at the giant stone block, he smiled slowly.

"I don't like that look in your eyes..." Navi commented warily.

"I have an idea." Link said slowly, still smiling.

After he explained his plan, they were silent.

"ARE YOU INSANE!" Ginny screamed in consternation.

For a moment, anyway.

Both Harry and Link winced at her tone, and the Boy-Who-Lived added, "I have to admit Link, as far as crazy plans go, and believe me, I've made some pretty crazy ones before," he commented, remembering the plan to follow the spiders, or the plan to rush in and take Voldemort and his Death Eaters with Neville, Luna, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny at his side (with an internal wince at that one), "This is really crazy."

"It'll work." Link said confidently.

"It better," Ginny warned, "Because if we die, I'm never talking to you again."

* * *

The plan basically went down to this. After a quick test, Harry verified that they had about two minutes in between each geyser burst. Immediately after the initial geyser burst, Harry would use his magic to move the block onto the geyser, and then they would climb on. Simple, except for the fact that they'd be riding a fiery geyser elevator, and if it was too weak, they'd crash down and probably break some bones, and if it was too strong, they'd be crushed against the immovable stone ceiling.

Still, it was the only plan they had. But it was still a pretty sorry one, at that.

As they clambered on top of the moved block of stone, all three gulped in unison. Navi was fine, considering she could just fly up there, but the rest of them were about to take a very risk chance, which Link had commented on, which led to Navi hitting him on the head.

"Okay... one, two," Harry began, before an enormous bang blasted them upwards. Ginny, who had already been a bit nervous, gave a small shriek and grabbed Harry's hand, squeezing it so tightly that the Boy-Who-Lived thought his hand would pop off.

As it reached the top, Link and Harry and Ginny (who needed to be pulled a little by the Boy-Who-Lived) jumped off, and rolled forward to stabilize themselves, finding themselves on the second floor of the Fire Temple.

"Well... that wasn't so bad." Link commented cheerfully, brushing himself off.

Harry nodded, and then suddenly he looked towards Ginny to ask how she was doing, when their eyes met, and then looked downwards towards their clasped hands.

Needless to say, they broke apart quickly, while Link chuckled gleefully at their beet red faces.

* * *

After freeing the imprisoned Goron from his (or hers... you couldn't really tell) cell in this room, the foursome found themselves in a bit of a dilemma, finding yet another improbable obstacle in their path when they climbed up to where the exit was supposed to be.

"A bloody wall of fire now!" Ginny swore glaring with equal heat at said wall of fire.

"Oh yeah, this is realllyy easy." Link drawled caustically, shooting a mild glare at Harry, who gave a slightly sheepish look.

"Sorry."

Suddenly Ginny yelled, "Hey guys! There's a switch over here that we missed!" She was pointing downwards, tucked away on the opposite side of the room on the lower level, was the said switch.

"I'll get it." Harry called out, Apparating over to the switch, hitting it, causing the flames to disappear, and then he Apparated back over, and the foursome made their way onwards.

Passing through a few more rooms with imprisoned Gorons, staying ahead of advancing walls of fire while crossing narrow stone beams over a seemingly bottomless pit, the foursome found one of the monster denizens of the temple... a giant flaming slug.

After a few snide comments from Harry and Ginny and some swings of the sword and a healthy dose of magic, they killed the Torch Slug, as it was called, according to Navi, and proceeded to blow apart another wall with another bomb (with some gleeful and maniacal looks from Link). Liberating another Goron and crossing another dangerous area that spouted fire, the group made their way into a room seemingly ripped out of a Muggle movie.

* * *

"Geez! How can that thing roll _and _be on fire!" Harry yelled. "And why does it need to be both! It could easily crush us instead of setting us on fire!"

"Less talking! More running!" Ginny replied hastily, nearly tripping over himself.

"Oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap!" Was all Link could add to the conversation.

It was quite comical, really, seeing three teenagers run at full speed with panicked looks on their faces, being chased by a gigantic flaming boulder inside of a miniature labyrinth.

"Look! Door!" Ginny called out, unable to form complete sentences.

Running at full speed, all three teenagers and the amused and slightly afraid for their lives fairy that tailed them changed directions, and the flaming boulder turned slowly, rumbling on after them. At high speed, Harry hit the wall first, literally slamming into it, hard. Grabbing the knob, he discovered, much to his horror, that it was locked.

"Who has a key!" He yelled, panicked.

"I got it!" Link responded, rapidly slamming the key into the locked door, unlocked it, and tossed himself inside, followed closely by his friends, all of them landing in a tangled mess (except Navi, of course) on the stone floor.

"Well... that was fun." Harry muttered sarcastically.

"Shut up Harry." Ginny muttered, holding her chest and panting.

"Uh... Guys... I think we're in trouble." Link said cautiously, grabbing the Master Sword.

Turning, the witch and wizard found themselves staring at another of Ganondorf's creations... this one far less comical and more deadly.

For a moment, Harry believed it was on fire... until he realized it was _made_ of the flames. From the small, rocklike core, pure fire stretched out, forming the monstrosity's head, arms, and legs, making the limbs look solid, but were really invulnerable to damage. It moved with a deadly, dancing grace, like a dancing firelight... only with much more malicious intent.

"That's a Flare Dancer... these things are a lot deadlier than what we've seen so far. I'd say they're about as dangerous, if not more dangerous, than a Stalfos." Navi reported slowly.

"Spread out." Link said quietly, and Harry and Ginny nodded, the wizard circling left, the witch going right. Steeling himself, Link unsheathed his sword and in the same move slashed at the Flare Dancer.

The creature danced out of range, and lashed out viciously with its fiery appendages. Link barely avoided getting burned by backflipping away. Immediately, Harry and Ginny opened up on the creature, hammering away with Force Spells and Stunners and Cutting Curses. The Flare Dancer absorbed them all, and kept coming.

"Shit." Ginny whispered, and no one disagreed with her assessment.

As Link headed the creature off, Harry's train of thoughts barely noticed that Link's green clothes were still burned from before...

And then it hit him, and Harry knew exactly what to do. "Inriguus!" He yelled, pointing his staff at the Flare Dancer. The torrent of water from the Dousing Charm crushed the flames, leaving only the main body, undefended. Link stabbed it several times before the creature crumbled into dust.

"Okay... maybe Ganondorf isn't as stupid as I believed." Link commented, glancing at the hard breathing faces of his friends.

"There's a chest over there..." Harry pointed out, glancing over at the wooden chest that was most likely their prize, and what the Flare Dancer was guarding.

"Ten Rupees says its that hammer thingy." Link said, stepping towards the wooden chest.

"Rupees?" Ginny and Harry chorused in confusion.

"Remind me to tell you guys when we get out of here." The Hero of Time responded, and kicked open the chest. His half smile became a full out smile as he lifted out a massive silver war hammer that gleamed in the firelight. "So this is the Megaton Hammer huh?" Link commented, giving it a few experimental swings, before sheathing it at his back, where a good deal of weapons locks seemed to be on his Hylian Shield.

"How come he gets the hammer?" Ginny asked to no one in particular.

* * *

After that, the group went through a tunnel, killing a few more Keese, and arrived right back where they started. "Okay... where's that darn key for the door?" Harry wondered, glancing around the room.

A few more minutes went by before Link, frustrated, decided to test out his new hammer against one of the statues. As soon as the war hammer connected with the stone, it shattered, revealing a doorway.

"I should smash things more often." Link commented, opening the door.

"Yeah... how about no." Navi replied.

Inside the room, they held a pitched battle against even more Keese and a few of those flaming flying skulls, which were no match for the combined firepower of Link, Harry, and Ginny. After that, the next room provided them with a new challenge.

Two Flare Dancers.

* * *

"You have got to be kidding me!" Link yelled, avoiding the whip strike of one of the creatures.

"Ginny! Dousing Charms!" Harry ordered, and the redhead nodded, dousing the first Flare Dancer. As Harry aimed at his, the creature suddenly leapt over his head, landing right in front of Link. The Hero of Time barely had time (no pun intended) to raise the Master Sword when the creature smashed it aside. Falling to the floor from the force of the blow, and with his friends unable to come to his aid as the first Flare Dancer managed to relight itself.

Grabbing the first weapon that came into hand, Link whipped it forwards, and, realizing it was the hookshot, fired it directly into the center of the creature in desperation. Amazingly, the hook sank in, and brutally yanked the body of the Flare Dancer, canceling its fiery appendages and leaving it in front of the Hero of Time, who promptly stabbed it to the ground.

Ginny, meanwhile, dodged one whip strike of the creature, and nailed it again with a Dousing Charm. Before it could again relight itself, Harry slashed it apart with the sword of Gryffindor.

"See... easy." Link panted.

"Shut... up..." Was all Ginny could say, and Harry simply leaned against the wall, exhausted. Link opened the chest on the far side of the room, which gave him a key of the exact shape of the key that opened the door to Phantom Ganon's room.

"Look's like we're going to see the dragon." Link commented, before his battle fatigue overcame him, causing him to fall down onto his butt and lie there on the stone floor for a moment. "Maybe we should rest first."

"Good idea." Harry responded, proceeding to do the same.

After a few minutes of rest, in which each took a small sip from a potion bottle Link procured from one of his belt pouches, they were once again refreshed and ready to take on the last part of the temple. The ancient dragon Volvagia.

* * *

When they exited, they found themselves back where they started, in the main room. Again. With two differences. One, they had the key to open the room to Volvagia. And two, Darunia wasn't greeting them, but was bleeding profusely on the floor.

"Darunia!" Links cried out, and ran to the Goron's side, his eyes bright with fear and unshed tears. "What's wrong?"

"Flare Dancer caught me off guard..." Darunia wheezed, hacking up more blood.

"Step aside, quickly." Harry ordered briskly, unknowingly sounding much like Madam Pomfrey, but the Hero of Time didn't budge, still looking stricken in front of Darunia. "Damn it Link!" Harry swore loudly, and Link was startled, meeting Harry's eyes with his distracted, worried cobalt eyes. "Listen, I can help him, but you have to move." Harry said, in a softer, kinder tone.

Link nodded once, and Ginny took him by the shoulder, saying, "Don't worry. Harry knows what he's doing."

Grateful for Ginny's confidence, and a little embarrassed about it too, Harry quickly cast a Healing Charm on the wound, which sent a bright teal, almost liquid glow all across the body. It was akin to a sudden drenching in cool, soothing water, Harry had noted, when Remus showed him by using the Healing Charm on Harry.

Darunia's breathing stabilized, and Harry figured (from his limited medical knowledge, especially on the anatomy of Gorons) that the Goron was fine. "He's okay," Harry breathed, and stood up.

"One of us should stay here," Link said shakily, obviously still out of it after seeing a close friend seriously injured, maybe for the first time. "In fact, you two should stay here and watch Darunia." He said it both out of concern for the Goron's safety, but also for the safety of the witch and wizard.

But Harry, with a little aid from his Legilimency skills, picked up what Link was doing. "No way in hell are we letting you deal with a dragon, a bloody ancient dragon that probably knows more tricks than a clown, alone!" Harry responded furiously.

"He's right Link," Navi commented dryly, but her tone had a trace of worry for her charge, "I don't fancy seeing you become a barbequed Hero of Time."

Ginny, who had also picked up on what Link was doing from her own natural perceptiveness, nodded. "Maybe you two should go on ahead. I'll stay here." Ginny said, but there was a hint of bitterness and worry in her voice.

"No. All four of you should go." Darunia said, struggling to stand back up. Before any of them could reach him, he stood up straight. "The four of you managed to free my people... together, you may destroy Volvagia. Did you find the Megaton Hammer?" He asked, and Link, smiling at the moment madly now, raised the massive silver hammer.

A soft, reverent smile came onto Darunia's face. "Excellent. I know and trust that the four of you have what it takes to beat that dragon, and Ganondorf. I will be fine here on my own."

"Are you sure?" Link asked worriedly.

Darunia smiled, larger, warmer smile. "I will be fine Brother. All you need do is free Death Mountain, and then Hyrule, with your friends. Go."

The four nodded, with Harry and Ginny shooting Darunia grateful looks as they opened the door, and then proceeded onward, into the dragon's den.

"Those four might just save all of our lives..." Darunia grinned, and then turned back towards the entrance towards the Fire Temple and sat down, panting slightly with the effort of standing for so long.

* * *

The four found themselves in a long, narrow hallway with only two ways out. "Guess we know where we're going, huh?" Link joked weakly, but no one laughed, all of them pondering just how dangerous Volvagia was. "Hey, Harry, Ginny," Link began, turning towards his two offworlder friends. "Before we go, I'd like to say a few things."

Harry and Ginny were silent, and although they were tempted to say something to break the tension, the solemn tone that the normally jolly elf took made them still their tongues.

"Even though we've only been friends for a few days, you two have been some of the, maybe even the best friends I've ever had." Link said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. As the Boy-Who-Lived or the youngest Weasley opened their mouths to responded, suddenly Link snapped his fingers and opened a pouch at his side.

"These are for you, as tokens of my gratitude." Harry and Ginny were speechless and Link handed them both beautifully crafted ocarinas, one emerald green one for Harry, and one fiery crimson one for Ginny. As the two of them took the ocarinas, Link smiled at them. "Maybe later on, we'll make a song that will just be our song... the song of our friendship."

"Link..." Ginny whispered, rubbing at what looked suspiciously like a tear in her brown eyes. Harry was in a similar state, shocked and flooded with warmth at Link's warm words.

"Damn I sound sappy, huh?" the Hero of Time said sheepishly, and grinned at them.

Navi groaned, and then a sudden yelp of pain was heard from the elf, as Navi smacked the back of his head.

"This way, we'll never forget our friendship." Link added softly.

"We never would anyway Link. Thank you." Ginny whispered, and then, in a move much like Hermione Granger, pulled both Harry and Link with her arms into a group hug. For a moment, they were silent, glad to have made such friends.

"Okay, is sappy time over now?" Link asked, smiling.

"OW! Damn it Navi!"

* * *

Opened the door to Volvagia's chamber, the foursome stepped forwards, and found themselves standing at the far edge of a giant stone island amidst a boiling lava ocean, inside a massive, circular stone cavern. "Where is it?" Navi asked quietly, and slowly, the group made their way to the center of the cavern, drawing their respective weapons.

But still no Volvagia.

Walking towards the edge slowly, Link peered over it, trying to see how far down the drop was, and if there was some hidden alcove the dragon was hiding in. Glancing at the lake of orange, bright and boiling lava, he sighed. And that's when the lava he was looking down on erupted upwards with vehement violence, releasing a massive black shape from its depths.

Link, so shocked by this development, fell onto his posterior, and then rapidly scrambled backwards, before picking himself up and staring. All four of the would-be saviors of Hyrule watched Volvagia in utter horror, rapid pits of fear growing in their stomachs.

"Bloody hell..." Ginny breathed in horror.

"Dear sweet Merlin... that's one big lizard..." Harry muttered in disbelief.

"I think we're in trouble..." Link whispered softly, worriedly, gripping the Megaton Hammer so tightly his knuckles looked as though they'd pop out of his leather gloves.

Snaking across the sky of the cavern, the massive dragon-serpent flew without wings, just one massive, stream-lined body, with a gigantic skull and two three fingered arms that seemed disproportional to the sheer size of the body, but the claws that gleamed like steel and looked sharper than daggers seemed to offset this. The body was armored by coal black scales that looked and probably were harder than diamon. Its head was crowned by two horns that stretched backwards, with flickering flames, like a lion's mane, dancing around nearby its skull, while its massive, beak-like jaw jutted outwards. And from this massive cranium two blood red eyes glared out defiantly, intelligently.

Giving off a massive and tremulous roar that seemed to shake the entirety of the Fire Temple, Volvagia belched out a massive gout of flame that smashed into the cavern's ceiling, releasing a hellish burn mark on the solid rock.

"Well... that's not good." Navi commented quietly.

* * *

"SCATTER!" Link roared, leaping to the side and pushing Ginny with him, as Harry dodged to the opposite side. The ground where they stood was utterly annihilated, burned and turned into molten glass.

The dragon roared again, shaking the chamber, and released another inferno, this one concentrating on Ginny and Link and Navi. Luckily, the three managed to avoid the gout of fire, though just narrowly. As the dragon prepared to attack again, a powerful Force Spell, causing its gout of flame to miss by a few meters, suddenly struck it in the jaw.

Glaring at the young wizard who dared defy him, Volvagia turned his assault onto Harry, who used a Leaping Spell to avoid the inferno, but unfortunately, he realized too late that he was now less than two meters from the dragon's open mouth.

Volvagia seemed to be smirking at him, looking as smug as a fifty meter plus dragon could look. Harry looked on in horror, barely managing to whisper incredulously before it struck.

"Bollocks."

And then the dragon lunged; serpent quick, and all Harry James Potter could see was Volvagia's gaping maw devouring his entire line of sight, as if he was plunging into the depths of Tartarus.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore sat in his chair at Hogwarts, easing into it slowly, trying in vain to reassure himself and his guests.

"Albus... there are still no more ideas on how You-Know-Who got that portal open." Professor Minvera McGonagall remarked irritably and nervously and worriedly, all at the same time. Quite a feat, really.

"My searches have produced nothing as well," Professor Severus Snape added smoothly.

Dumbledore sighed. "This is most troubling... we must find a way to bring Mister Potter and Miss Weasley back."

"Sir, our resources would me much better spent hunting down those Death Eaters that escaped our grasp!" Snape protested, just as he had days before.

"And leave two innocent children to die?" Remus Lupin cut in angrily, "You're more like those Death Eaters than I thought!"

Snape's eyes widened at the insult, then narrowed dangerously, and a vein pulsed at his temple, a ticking timer that told when the Potions Professor would go off. "Do not ever, ever, compare me to them, werewolf." Snape whispered dangerously. "I am nothing like them, do you understand me?"

"Enough!" Dumbledore ordered sharply, the air cracking with his anger and annoyance. Both men sat down immediately, glaring at each other quietly and probably imagining the other's bloody and painful death.

"We must continue the search. As for the remnants of the Death Eaters, they are scattered and leaderless. The Ministry will find them soon." Dumbledore assured Snape, before looking at all of them. "We must trust that Mister Potter and Miss Weasley will be found, but also, we must find out how to open a portal so we can find Voldemort and help Mister Potter finish him."

"What are you saying Headmaster?" Snape asked incredulously, "That arrogant boy could never defeat the Dark Lord!"

"He can, and he must. He is the only one who can." Dumbledore whispered softly. "It is prophecy."

"Rubbish." Snape dismissed, but Remus and McGonagall looked at Albus with a mixture of apprehension and curiosity.

"The prophecy at the Department of Mysteries..." Remus murmured, putting the pieces together. He looked up sharply. "Have you told Harry?"

"Yes." Dumbledore said wearily.

"Wait a minute... you didn't." Remus stood up and looked at Dumbledore with a mixture of anger and fear.

"I told him the day Sirius died."

"You did what!" McGonagall said, almost shrieking. "How could you do that to the poor boy Albus!"

"I... I thought it was the best time." Albus Dumbledore slumped wearily in his chair.

"Brilliant... our hopes rest on that arrogant Potter." Snape muttered, "If that doesn't make his head big enough to explode, then I don't know what will."

"Severus! Harry Potter is not James Potter!" McGonagall interrupted angrily.

"We shall see." Snape sneered, knowing that he was outnumbered.

"Continue your searches. Dismissed." Dumbledore said tiredly. As they left, he whispered to himself, "I know you will survive Harry. I just hope you can return to _us_ alive."

* * *

_Oh Merlin, I'm going to die! _Harry thought to himself as Volvagia charged him, his gigantic maw open to devour him like the abyss. It was toothless, but large enough to probably swallow him whole.

On instinct, he yelled out the first spell that came to mind. "Scutum!"

The Protection Spell is a different version of the Shield Charm, more powerful, more draining, with a 360-degree bubble of protection. One of the most effective defensive spells ever crafted, and it had saved many a wizard's life before. It would do so now.

Volvagia clamped down, like gigantic gates sealing him in a dark cave, but his Protection Spell held, and that blue bubble kept the dragon's mouth open. However, it did not stop the force of the lunge, and Harry now found himself wedged inside the mouth of the ancient serpent, being flown across the arena forcibly, before being smashed into the cava wall.

The massive serpent flew off, momentarily breaking off its attack and leaving the Boy-Who-Lived behind it.

To the Boy-Who-Lived's horror, his shield flickered and died out from the impact, and he found himself tumbling into the seemingly hungry lake of boiling lava that encompassed his view. The Protection Spell had drained him terribly, which was why he had yet to try it with the staff, leaving him unable to use another spell at the time.

Vaguely, he heard Ginny scream in horror, and heard Link yell something indistinguishable, but Harry just closed his eyes and prepared himself for the next great adventure.

It's funny, he mused, that he when he had escaped death in so many different ways, he would die in a manner that seemed only done in movies. Link was still yelling something, but Harry couldn't hear... but now he was getting louder, and suddenly he felt something tough and leathery grasp his hand.

"I guess magic doesn't solve everything," Link smirked, holding onto Harry's hand with his own gloved hand.

Harry blinked. He wasn't dead... "I guess..." Harry grinned, before adding breathlessly, "Thanks." That was all he managed before Ginny's shout cut off any more talk.

"HE'S COMING BACK!" She managed to shout, before firing off more spells at the massive dragon, which didn't even flinch at the barrage.

Quickly, Link pulled the Boy-Who-Lived back to his feet, and the two shared a grin, before plunging back into the battle.

* * *

Harry dodged aside as yet another rain of boulders, courtesy of Volvagia's body smashing into the cava ceiling, fell like drops of extremely large and deadly rain. "There's got to be a way to kill this thing!" The Boy-Who-Lived yelled, firing off an Explosion Spell, which only knocked the dragon onto a new course.

"I've got an idea." Link said quickly, next to Harry.

"Let's hear it then, before that dragon turns us into London Broil." Ginny gritted out, firing off a Bat Bogey Hex, which missed Volvagia by inches.

"Knock him close to the ground... I'll nail him with the Megaton Hammer, right in the head. That'll end it... hopefully." The Hero of Time muttered out the last part.

"Alright. You ready Gin?" Harry asked hurriedly, noticing the dragon was heading towards them again.

"Ready when you are." Ginny flashed him a smile, which Harry promptly returned.

Rapidly, both of them began a massive barrage of spells, timed so that each successive one would knock Volvagia downwards or off, if need may be, towards where Link would wait with the Megaton Hammer.

After two Explosion Spells and nearly half a dozen Force Spells, the massive dragon was nearly skimming the ground, obviously dazed by the rapid fire assault.

"He's all yours Link!" Harry yelled, perspiring, aching, magically and physically exhausted.

"Got it!" The Hero of Time responded, running towards the dragon at full speed, regardless of the massive hammer in his hands.

Volvagia was still skimming the ground, attempting to rise higher, when a massive shout was heard, and then Link leapt into the air, and brought the Megaton Hammer crashing down onto the skull of the dragon with enough force to cause a local earthquake, causing a sickening crunch and a pained roar that suddenly cut itself off, and then Volvagia, with Link on top, crashed into the floor.

In a plow of dirt and stone, Link found himself standing wobbly in front of the crushed and bleeding skull of the dragon Volvagia. Before he could say anything, the Hero of Time was plowed to the ground by his two friends, and an overjoyed Navi hovered above.

"You did it!" They chorused in unison, laughing with relief.

"Like there was ever any-" Before Link could finish his statement, a massive blue pillar of light erupted from the skull of Volvagia.

"To the Sacred Realm for me again, I guess. I'll be seeing you guys outside in a few minutes, okay?" The Hero of Time grinned at them, the thrill of victory still singing in his veins as he stepped into the pillar of light.

* * *

When the light faded from Link's eyes, he found himself staring at someone he didn't expect.

"Darunia! You're the sage of Fire!" Link said incredulously, blinking wildly.

The Goron gave a loud, booming laugh. "Yes, its me. Isn't that funny, Brother? Well, this must be what they call destiny." the Goron's Big Brother grinned at him, and for a moment, Link grinned back, before realizing the implications of Darunia's position as Sage of Fire.

"But what about your son! And the Gorons! You can't just-" Link began, not wanting to lose another friend in his fight to save Hyrule.

"I know I will see them again, Link. And I would not stand to see my son, my people, live in a world dominated by Ganondorf. It may pain me, but nothing has made me happierthan helping you seal the evil here! If I can help you seal the Darkness everywhere, then that is fine with me."

Link blinked, and remembered Harry's words after Saria became the Sage of the Forest, and was taken from him. "I guess so... the one's we love never leave us, right?"

Darunia nodded, smiling. "Exactly. Take this," The Goron held out his hand, and a fiery glow pulsated for a moment, before revealing a large, fiery orange medal. "This is the Medallion of Fire. It contains the power of Fire... and is my gift to you, in honor of our friendship, Take it Brother."

The Hero of Time smiled at Darunia and took the Medallion. "Thanks... Brother." Link choked out, and the Goron smiled at him, before a flash of light took Link from the Sacred Realm and Darunia.

* * *

Thanks to Aishwarya, PinkyTheSnowman, Emma Barrows, Shinigami's Shadow, Dune, FroBoy, Andrew Roberts, Tytianne, japanese-jew, mashimaromadness, TheEvilHobo, TwistedNecro, and the evil lord sephiroth for reviewing!

QA

PinkyTheSnowman- Did you enjoy more H/G moments here? That boulder maze is annoying... which is why I made fun of it. Eventually, they will have to leave Hyrule behind. But who says that the Legend of Zelda are the only games Link's ever been in...

Dune- A place where magic doesn't work? Not plausible with the plot I'm running... (yes, there is a grand plot), but perhaps in a different story... say the sequel (which is going to be written sometime probably in 2010 at this rate.)

Andrew Roberts- Thanks. As for Fable... maybe...

japanese-jew- Exactly why I like this story. As for what I'm doing... one of your suggestions is a central part of the plot... and the chance to bring back an old friend...

the evil lord sephiroth- That's pretty cool. I'm pretty eager for the next world too, because it's a change of pace from the previous worlds... full of politics and empires and runes. And in that world, the plot takes off.

AN: Thanks for reading and please review!


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